Jean Murdock Brown, 85, of Troutman, N.C., went on to meet her savior on October 7, 2024. She was the oldest of five children, born in 1939 in the Scotts community of Iredell County, to the late James Oswald Murdock and Mildred Sherrill Murdock. She was preceded in death by a son, Grant Holland Brown, and a brother, Larry Wayne Murdock.
Jean was the beloved wife of 65 years to her high school sweetheart, Lannie L. Brown. She was a 1957 graduate of Troutman High School, where she was a cheerleader, member of the Beta Club, and secretary of the senior class. She was a 1962 graduate of Appalachian State Teacher’s College, where she was a multi-year recipient of the Carnation Company Scholarship. She completed her student teaching at D. Matt Thompson Junior High School and is known for instilling in many generations of students at Troutman Middle School a love of English grammar, composition, and classical literature.
Jean completed her post-graduate work in Human Development and Learning at UNCC and also enjoyed the Comparative Religion courses at Mitchell Community College, which inspired many wonderful years of teaching Sunday school and Bible study at First United Methodist Church in Troutman, where she was an active member. Jean loved serving in the church and singing in the choir. She also loved traveling with family, particularly the special trips taken with each grandchild as they reached middle school age.
Jean’s legacy lives on through her loving family, and she is survived by her husband, Lannie L. Brown of the home; daughters, Gwyn Brown Oates (Billy) of Easley, S.C., and Ellen Brown Warner (Bret) of Greenwood, S.C.; grandchildren, Justin Oates of Jefferson, Ga., Jordan Oates (Jennifer) of Fountain Inn, S.C., Jillian Reid (Chris) of Longmont, Colo., Olivia Daly (James) of Charleston, S.C., Aidan Warner of Columbia, S.C., and Emily Warner of Atlanta, Ga. She was also blessed with five great-grandchildren with three more on the way. Her surviving siblings are Joyce Murdock Feilke of Austin, Texas, Ken Murdock of Troutman, and Teri Murdock Earnhardt of Salisbury.
Visitation will be at First United Methodist Church of Troutman on Thursday, October 10, at 1 p.m. Funeral services will be at the church at 2 p.m. with Reverend Jeff Hamrick officiating.
The family would like to thank all the very special caregivers and staff from Accessible Home Care and VIA Health Partners for their love and care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First United Methodist Church of Troutman, P.O. Box 717, Troutman, NC 28166 (Attn: Building Fund in memoriam/Jean Brown) or Help Ministries of Troutman, reached through First United Methodist Church.
Troutman Funeral Home is serving the family.