Bonita Maye Brown

Bonita Maye Brown, lifelong Cleveland area resident, passed away on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at the OSU Medical Center in Tulsa at the age of seventy-seven.

Bonita was born August 14, 1930, south of Cleveland, Oklahoma in a rural community known as Dixie. She was the youngest of nine children of William Joseph and Pearl Edith (Booth) Comer. Bonita attended grade school in Dixie Community School and later graduated from Cleveland High School in 1947.

Upon completion of high school, Bonita accepted a position with the Johnson Oil Refinery. She was baptized into the family of Christ in 1949 at the First Baptist Church and was later married to Vernon Brown on January 3, 1950 in the same church. The couple made their home in Cleveland, raising three children, Vernon Leroy, Jr., Mikal Ray and Lisa Gayle.

During their fifty-eight years of marriage, Vernon and Bonita loved to travel. They would often take six week trips, often traveling to Alaska and the Northwest. After their children were grown, the couple continued to travel including their grandchildren in the familiy vacations. Bonita loved her family and dedicated her life to taking care of them. Christmas was always a special time at the Brown home and having her family near her was very important. She enjoyed talking with them and continued to call them daily when they weren't close by her side. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Bonita loved her brothers and sisters and their children; being from a large family, she instilled the importance of a loving family in everyone around her. She lived by the philosphy that if you can't say something nice and kind about someone, don't say it at all. She was known as a kind and caring person throughout the community and even in her illness her health care providers would aruge over who would get to care for her. She was also know as a great story teller.

Bonita was preceded in death by her parents; four brothers, Ed, Richard, William "Bill" and Roy Dan "Jack"; and two sisters Lula Wilcoxson and Bessie Smith; and a great-grandson, Noah Lee Brown. She is survived by her husband, Vernon Brown of the home; two sons, Vernon Brown and his wife Tena of Blanchard, Oklahoma and Mikal Brown of Cleveland, Oklahoma; daughter, Lisa Hirst and husband Glenn of Cleveland, Oklahoma; two sisters, Lillie Ingalls and Ruth Smith, both of Cleveland, Oklahoma; four grandchildren Jennifer Zickefoose of Cleveland, Oklahoma, Jason Brown of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, Kameron Kendrick of Cleveland, Oklahoma and Corbin Peters of Cleveland, Oklahoma; five great-grandchildren, Jaidyn, Camdyn, Paisley, Hadley and Talan.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am Thursday, April 10, 2008 at the Grace Baptist Church, Burial will be at the Woodland Cemetery under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home.