Martha Jane Chitwood Brown was taken home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Sept. 13, 2012. She passed away at home under the care of her family and HOPE Hospice. She was born in Gadsden on July 22, 1926, the second child of Reuben George and Inus Marie Mikels Chitwood. The family moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1929 in search of employment for her father. In 1932, the family moved again, this time back to her parents hometown, Fort Payne, where most of her childhood memories were made. She grew up helping on the family farm in the Sand Valley area of DeKalb County, picking cotton, harvesting peanuts and helping care for her four younger sisters.

After graduating from DeKalb County High School in 1945, Mrs. Brown began work as a secretary and accountant with the Alabama Department of Pensions and Security in Fort Payne. During this time, she met her husband, Robert H. (Bob) Brown of Jasper, who preceded her in death on April 29, 2012. They were married on Aug. 30, 1951, at First Baptist Church of Piedmont and moved to Jasper, where Mrs. Brown transferred to work with the Walker County office of the Department of Pensions and Security. In 1975, after 28 years and 9 months of service to the state of Alabama, Mrs. Brown took a medical retirement.

An active member of New Prospect Baptist Church, Mrs. Brown worked with the G.A.'s (Girls Auxiliary of the Women's Missionary Union) and the Baptist Youth Program. She taught Sunday School for a time at New Prospect and co-taught with Mrs. Marie Hendon the Sunday evening Bible study for the youth at New Prospect. Her hobbies included needle point, smocking and sewing children's clothes, as well as reading and keeping up with her family. In 1994, she and her husband Bob moved to Anniston in order to be close to their only child, Ben, and his family. In Anniston, Mrs. Brown attended Anniston Bible Church, where she made many new friends. She wished her life to reflect the passage found in Jeremiah 10 23-24:

"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the LORD, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

For in these I delight," says the LORD.

Mrs. Brown is survived by her son, Ben and his wife, Mary; three grandchildren, Adam Thomas, Daniel Paul and Elizabeth Jane Brown, all of Anniston; one sister, Dora Lee (Ned) Bowers and her husband, LaVaughn, of Fort Payne, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family is grateful for the care given their mother by the staff of Comfort Keepers since 2007 and the staff of HOPE Hospice since May 2012.

Funeral services will be held at New Prospect Baptist Church in Jasper on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, at 2 p.m. with visitation beginning 1 hour prior to the service. Burial will be in New Prospect Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at Anniston Bible Church, Anniston on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alabama Baptist Children's Home or to HOPE Hospice 256-820-3995.

Kilgore-Green Funeral Home, Jasper; 205-384-9503