DORIS JEAN BROWNA brief history:  Doris Jean
Brown, the eldest of four children, was born in 1928 to
Ernest William and Doris Brown in Manchester. As a young girl Jean was a very talented dancer and her ballet and tap teacher told Jean's mother that she could quite easily pass the examinations to become a professional dancer. However in 1939 the family, (which now included her brother Ernest), were forced to move to Loughborough due to her father's job on the railways. Because of this, all thoughts of becoming a professional dancer were dashed by the move and the beginning of World War Two. It was during this time that Jean's two other brothers were born, David and Graham. After leaving school Jean started work in the Ladybird book factory in Loughborough but within a year she had left to join a company that packed parachutes for the RAF. Then in 1945 the family were on the move yet again, this time to Pendlebury Road, Swinton, Manchester.  When they arrived
in Swinton Jean decided she would like to continue her war-effort work and
applied to join the Land Army. Once accepted she was sent to Carlisle to
work on the local farms. She loved this job, working in the fields,
picking crops, milking the cows and attending to the horses. She
especially remembered the comradeship with the other girls and always
talked about it fondly.
Jean and Cyril When the war ended Jean went to work at Monk's cotton mill in Pendlebury as a winder and it was as she walked to work that she would pass Cyril coming the opposite way on his way to Matthew and Yates. After a few weeks they started to nod at each other and exchanged smiles, which eventually turned into a 'good morning' and then finally Cyril plucked up the courage to stop and ask her out. After courting for a couple of years Cyril and Jean became engaged. They celebrated by going to the Adelphi Cinema to see the film 'Reap the Wild Wind' starring John Wayne, Jean's all time favourite actor. Their evenings out were usually spent in their favourite pub, the Showboat (Shepherd's Arms) with family and friends. In 1951 the couple married at Christ Church, Pendlebury. At first they lived with in-laws but after a couple of years they managed to get a deposit together for their own house, where they lived for 50 years. They had two children Janet and Susan. Family holidays were usually taken at either Blackpool or Rhyl. For many years Jean stayed at home looking after the children but finally went back to work part-time at the BOC where she worked until her retirement. Jean became a grandmother when Ruth and Steven were born. Jean had an array of talents; she loved to sing, play the electric organ, piano and piano accordian. She used to knit and sew and regularly made her daughters clothes, including their beautiful whit-Sunday dresses which she delicately embroidered.    In her sixties Jean took great pleasure in making Victorian dolls and soft toys which she displayed at home and gave as presents to family and friends. She loved to bake, watch her favourite TV soaps and her special treat was a drink of Guinness on a Friday night. She was an avid reader of murder mysteries, westerns and autobiographes. She used to decorate her house with brasses, listen to her record and CD collection and loved to shop, especially to buy small pieces of jewellery. One of her favourite places was the Trafford Centre in Manchester. Because of Jean's deteriorating health, she and Cyril moved to live near their daughters in 2002 which gave Janet and Susan the chance to give back some of the loving care she had given them over the years. Sadly Jean died in hospital in 2005 with all her loved ones around her. Jean's funeral was a befitting tribute to her life and love. The songs chosen to be played as we entered the chapel and at the end of the service, were in a way, chosen by Jean herself as some years earlier she had recorded herself singing several songs including: Yours and If you were the only girl in the world (Cyril's personal favourite). The day before the funeral had been Mothering Sunday and as her daughters had been unable to give their mum her cards and presents, the minister read aloud a verse which they felt said much of what they would have wanted her to know. 
We
would like to take the chance Upon this emotive day To tell you all that’s in our hearts But don’t very often say Mum you have always been A rock of strength to us Everything a mother should be A source of kindness and love You have always been there for us A wise and gentle guide A mother who no matter what Would always take our side You showed us that a caring heart Being gentle, warm and kind Were qualities more precious Than any treasures we may find 
Often mum we thinkback To those happy bygone days To the joy you always brought In oh so many ways. Mum we shall always remember The kindness in your heart And to this day within our lives You played a special part For we have learned so much from you Our wise and gentle guide And to say that you're our mother Fills us with so much pride So dear mum please accept these words For they are sincere and true And they are being sent today Straight from our hearts to you Jean was a generous and kind hearted person who always considered others before herself. She loved life and had a great sense of humour. She was an extremely spirited, loving and brave woman who fought her long and debilitating illness to the very end. She was the best wife a man could have and the best mum in the world. She will be desperately missed by us all. Know that you take our love with you on your journey. Click here for Jean's gallery. Other people we said goodbye to in 2005 |