-- — Dorothy Alice Herrin Brown passed away on August 10, 2012, in Valdosta, aged 77. Her life was long and filled with beauties and adventures that she graciously shared with others.

Dot Brown was born October 29, 1934, in Silver Point, Tennessee, on Mine Lick Creek to S. R. and Maggie Herrin. At the age of three, she became the ward of her adoptive parents, Colonel (USA) Foster B. and Haillie Parham. She was graduated from the Georgia Christian Institute (Dasher Bible College) and Orlando Junior College, and she later attended the Orange Memorial School of Nursing.  In Orlando she met a young Air Force Lt., William (Bill) Brown,  and they were married in 1955.

The first years of their marriage saw them stationed at bases in the U.S. and abroad. As a serviceman’s wife, she began a long career as a music teacher, performer, and community servant, working with base youth centers. In 1957, she began what would become a 40-year career teaching piano to youngsters. In the early 1960s, Dot worked as a broadcaster for the Armed Services Radio and Television network in Okinawa. The couple moved to Valdosta in 1964, where her husband was stationed at Moody Air Force Base, eventually retiring there at the rank of Major after a tour in Vietnam. In 1974, the couple opened Valdosta Music Teaching Studios, with Dot as principal piano instructor. She directed the youth music groups the Blues, the Good Times, the Junior Blues, and the Baby Blues. She taught her final piano lessons in May of this year.

Dorothy Brown was an active citizen and a selfless servant to her community. She was a volunteer for programs such as the March of Dimes and Meals on Wheels, and she was the director of the Young Volunteers in Action. In 1985, she was inducted into the National Piano Guild Hall of Fame.

She was honored as the Valdosta Quota Club’s Woman of the Year and the Valdosta Junior Service League’s Woman of Achievement, and she has the distinction of being the first woman to run for mayor of Valdosta. She was honored for her community service by the Valdosta Evening Lions Clubs, the Evening Lioness Club, the Valdosta Girls’ Club, the Love and Caring Auxiliary for the Elderly, and the Valdosta Day Care Center. July 27, 1996, was proclaimed Dorothy Brown Day in the city of Valdosta by Mayor Jimmy Rainwater. On that day’s celebration, she received accolades from Governor Zell Miller, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Senator Sam Nunn, and a host of other prominent dignitaries.

In the 1990s, Dot, under the name Dorothy Alice, authored a family history entitled Mama’s Garden, an account of her mother and her 10 sibling’s struggles through the Great Depression and their forced relocation for the building of the Center Hill Dam.

Dorothy is survived by her husband of 56 years, Major Bill Brown (USAF, Ret.), as well as her children and their spouses: Cindy and Lt Col Tom Best (USAF, Ret.) of West Melbourne, Florida; Bill and Deborah Brown, Jr. of Valdosta; Dotty Jo and Robby Davis of Leesburg, Georgia; and Michael and Angela Brown of Raleigh, North Carolina. She is survived by 12 grandchildren: Sarah Tiffany Knapp, Anne Cortez, SSgt Justin Best (USMC), Mary Wells Smith, SSgt Ryan Best (USAF), SrA Gabe Best (USAF), Anna Haillie Brown, Rab Davis, A1C Evan Bennett (USAF), Jessica Clum, Demi Davis, and Machaon Brown. She is survived by 9 great-grand children. Her surviving siblings include Mary Frances Hall, Madeline Victory, Shirley Maddux, Barbara Sue Haggard, Janice Thomas, and Hank Herron, all of Tennessee, as well as Lonnie Herron of Michigan. She is preceded in death by her siblings Royce Herron, Johnny Herron, and Carolyn Ensor.  Dorothy Brown is likewise survived by a host of students, friends and neighbors whom she cherished. All who knew her were touched by the vastness of her heart, the depth of her intellect, the beauty of her art, the dazzle of her wit, the sparkle of her passion, the spell of her grace and charm. No one’s home was more hospitable. No one’s world was more inclusive or inviting.

The visitation for Dorothy Brown will be held Monday, August 13 at Music Funeral Home from 6-8 p.m. Her services, a celebration of her life, will be held Tuesday, August 14 at 11 a.m. at Music Funeral Home with burial to follow in Riverview Memorial Gardens.

Sympathy may be expressed online at www.musicfuneralservices.com — Music Funeral Services, Valdosta.