69.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Dorothy Brown
Former longtime Inwood resident Dorothy Benson Brown recently passed away.
Dorothy was the daughter of the late Nannie and Reuben Benson and was born December 28, 1912, in Camden, SC, where she spent her formative years and attended local schools. She graduated from Jackson High School in Camden, and South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Her family eventually moved to Brooklyn and upon arriving she joined the Varick Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, which was under the pastorship of the late Reverend Carruthers. She was an active member on the Stewardess Board, the Floral Club, Missionary Society, and she was a mother to the church for many years under the leadership of Dr. Calvin B. Marshall.
In the early 1950s Dorothy moved to Inwood. After retiring from a position as a counselor at Children’s Center in New York City, Dorothy then attended and graduated from the New York School of Funeral Directing. She served as Assistant Director of the Florence Benson Funeral Home in Inwood for many years.
Dorothy was married to the late Daniel Brown, an associate at the Florence Benson Funeral Home. He was a steward in Varick Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, who passed away in 1984. They had two daughters.
She was a member of the N.A.A.C.P., a lifetime member of the National Council of Negro Women, the Funeral Director’s Association, the Epsilon Nu Delta Mortuary Fraternity, the Unity Order of Tents, and the Latoja Social Club of Inwood.
After retiring in 1989, Dorothy moved to Elizabeth, NJ, to live with her two sisters, Florence Benson and Ethel Washington; and her daughter, Vanessa, moved there later. Dorothy joined the Siloam Hope Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, NJ. She was kindhearted, enjoyed reciting poetry and could compose poetic verse while conversing.
Dorothy is survived by her two daughters Marsha Brown Jones and Vanessa Brown, a grandson Sir Jones, niece, Rose Harris, a grand nephew; cousins, other relatives and a host of friends.A funeral service was held at Siloam Hope Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, NJ and the interment was at Rosedale Cemetery, E. Linden Avenue, Linden NJ.
