Deon Brown of Cathlamet went home to be with the Lord on July 11, 2011, as a result of a fatal auto accident.

Deon was born in Long Beach, Calif. in 1937. She was raised on a farm in the Yakima Valley, and attended Granger schools. She earned her way through college and graduated with a degree in missions from Northwest College and a teaching degree from Northwest Nazarene College. In 1964 she married Jim Brown in Coos Bay, Ore. where she was a teacher. They moved to Vancouver in 1965 where they raised three children. In 1968, she opened Vancouver’s first Montessori School. In later years Deon became a computer programmer and trainer. Deon and Jim retired to Cathlamet in 1999. She served a few years on the Cathlamet Dollars for Scholars Committee and on the St. James Family Center Board.

Deon is survived by her husband Jim Brown of Cathlamet; their children Jodi (Brown) VanGelder of Vancouver and her husband Kirk and their 12 children, Kristin (Brown) Mokelbust of Madera, Calif. and her son, and Trent Brown of Vancouver and his wife Kristy and their three children; her sister Lucille Hathaway of Mesa, and her twin sister Donna Brisky of Vancouver. Deon was preceded in death by her parents, Wayne and Orene Curfman and her brother Lloyd Curfman.

A memorial service was held July 15. Memorial contributions may be made to Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars.