Regina Brown
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Regina Brown on January 21st, 2025 at the age of 82. She was surrounded by family and passed peacefully at home. In the end of November, she suffered a sudden respiratory illness. She was in the hospital for 6 weeks (4 in CCU). Even though she fought hard, she just couldn’t win the battle. She made the decision to come home with the care of her family and hospice. She came home on January 15th and was able to visit with her sister and her sister’s son from Arkansas. A visit we will all treasure.
Regina was the oldest of 3 children, born on February 2nd, 1942 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. At a young age they moved to the Los Angeles area where they lived as a family of 5 in a tiny travel trailer before moving into a house. She graduated from Lennox High School in 1960. Growing up she served on student councils and dance committees. She was tall and thin and given the nickname “Slim” by her father. During summers, her and her sister, Janis, used to bike to the beach and hang out all day.
After high school and a break-up with her boyfriend, she went to spend some time with her aunt in Indiana where she met Phillip Brown. In 1963 they married and had their only child, René. Phillip was an architecture student at the University of Illinois. After graduation they moved to Santa Barbara where Regina and René enjoyed walking 3 blocks to the beach.
After Santa Barbara they moved to Evansville, Indiana for a few years before coming out west and settled in Bellevue, WA. Regina was a stay at home mom until around 1977 when she went to work at a brand new home goods store called Domus in Bellevue Square (when it was still an outdoor mall). She continued to work for Domus, eventually becoming store manager and then accounting director. She was also very involved in the Bellevue Art Museum and Art Fair, even serving as fair secretary for a year. She continued to work for Domus even after it was sold and stayed until the very end of the company. After the store closed, she went to work for Fugio, an import store in Capitol Hill, where she took the bus every day (for those that know Capitol Hill in Seattle this can be quite an adventure). After Fugio closed, she went to work for a Naturopathic Chiropractor and other providers at Moss Bay Health Center in downtown Kirkland. When the chiropractor had to retire for health reasons, she chose to retire as well.
In 1983, Regina and Phillip separated and she and René lived in a nice apartment in the Meydenbauer Bay area of downtown Bellevue. In 1996, Regina, René, Rod (René’s husband) and Rogin, (their daughter) all moved to a house in Kirkland where she lived until her passing.
Regina was an amazing mom to René, Nana to Rogin (René’s daughter) and Great Nana to Kaiden (Rogin’s son). She was always there for all of René’s events, including dance shows and gymnastics meets (the only time she ever chewed gum. She said it helped calm her nerves). She was extremely close to Rogin especially living in the same house until Rogin moved out to get married. She supported Rogin and all her school events, soccer games and softball career (even traveling to New York to watch Rogin play in her first year of college). They also used to go to Seattle to have dinner and see the Nutcracker for many years…it was their special night. Her love and support for her family was so strong and evident to all. We pray that Kaiden remembers her and how much she loved him and the fun times they had together. She was even kicking the soccer ball with him this summer at one of Rogin’s slowpitch games.
In her spare time, she loved to take the bus to downtown Seattle, shop and have lunch at the Pike Place Market. She loved animals (she had many cats through the years including 3 all named T.R.) she loved the visual arts, theater arts, music, reading (mainly mysteries), cooking, gardening and traveling…She took her first Europe Through the Back Door Trip in 1988. She met an amazing group that became life-long friends. On that trip one of the tour members was a wine rep. After the first trip the wine rep and the tour guide planned 4 more trips called the “Grape Escape” trips for the initial group. They got together in between trips as well to catch up and reminisce. She loved visiting new countries and experiencing their food, wine, culture, art, architecture, and more. She was pretty adventurous…especially because those were the days before cell phones and GPS. Armed with a paper map and her sweet demeanor she successfully managed to go on some solo outings while on her “Grape Escape” tours.
She will be remembered for her love and support of family, classiness, sweet heart and her amazing caramel pecan rolls and thanksgiving stuffing! It is still so surreal to think she is gone from this earth but will live on in our hearts!
Regina is survived by her daughter, René (Rod), granddaughter Rogin (Erik), great grandson Kaiden, her sister Janis Decoster (Gene), nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Clark and Annis Jarnagan and brother, Charles.
We will not be having a traditional funeral but will be holding a celebration of life in our garden this summer. We will be dedicating a special garden art piece while honoring her and remembering what she meant to all of us. Love You Mom!
The post first appeared on Barton Family Funeral Service.