Lt. Col. Mary Ellen J. Brown, USAF Ret.

Lt. Col. Mary Ellen J. Brown, USAF Ret., age 92, of Fairview Heights, IL, born on October 10, 1928, in Wheeling, WV, died on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, at Cedarhurst of Shiloh, Shiloh, IL.

Mary Ellen graduated from Wheeling High School in 1946. She then attended Ohio Valley General Hospital Nursing School in 1949 and received her bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University in 1953.  She served two terms in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1956; and from 1961 to 1978 she was a flight nurse and flew with the injured out of Vietnam. She taught nursing at Ohio Valley for 6 years and at that time she had enlisted in the reserves.  Mary Ellen retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1978 from the Air Force. She went on to get her master’s degree from St. Louis University in 1982, and wrote a book called Journey of a Lifetime about her life in nursing and events during Vietnam.  Mary Ellen was active in her churches, first with Hope Church in Wheeling, WV, and then Westminster Presbyterian Church in Belleville, IL. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, James R. and Marie, nee Rohrig Brown; her brothers, James Brown and Bernard Brown; and her nieces, Debbie Brown, and Beth Czerwonka.

Mary Ellen is survived by her adopted daughters, Sue (John) Hill and Linda (Mike) Goins; and her nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, Food Bank.

There will not be a local service in Illinois.  A graveside service will take place in Parkview Memorial Gardens, Wheeling, WV, on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. 

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