Cecelia L. Brown

Cecelia Louise (Griffis) Brown, age 80, of Riverside, Ohio passed away December 22, 2021. She was born January 10, 1941 in Decatur, Georgia to the late Melvin and Louise (King) Griffis. In addition to her parents, Cecelia was preceded in death by her husband, Derwood Belmont Brown.

Cecelia is survived by her brother, Donald Griffis (Brenda); foster daughter, Lynn Vincent Fields (Ray); and son, Melvin Tracy Freeman (former spouse, Mary Katheryn); grandchildren: Svea Eppler, Evan Eppler (Emily), Nelson Tracy Freeman (Noelle), Benjamin Tate Freeman (Caroline), Jesse Belmont Freeman (Janet), Cecelia Anne Freeman and Jenny Beth Freeman; great-grandchildren: Jackson Eppler, Isaac Eppler, Benjamin Tate Freeman Jr., Oakley Burnell Freeman, Channing Louise Freeman, Travers Joel Freeman, Ronan Dominic Freeman, Liam Belmont Freeman and Landrick Evan Freeman; several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Notable decisions for Cecelia were becoming the third-generation member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) following her grandmother Willie May (Skidmoor) King, was being engaged with a de-segregated Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Atlanta in the late 1950's, and was becoming not only a single parent (former spouse Spencer Tracy Freeman) but also added becoming a single foster parent to her commitments in the 1970's.

In her career, Cecelia worked at the Center for Disease Control in Georgia, the United States Army at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, and at several Social Security Administration offices in North Carolina. After her retirement from civil service and the passing of her spouse, Cecelia moved to Ohio in 2004 to live out her second childhood and to be closer to her grandchildren. She was affectionately known as Grammy.

Cecelia Brown was a Life Master in the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and a past member of the Miami Valley Bridge Association.

A memorial service for Cecelia Brown will be held at 2:30 pm on Sunday, January 2, 2022 at Newcomer North Chapel, 4104 Needmore Road, where the family will receive friends for one half hour (2:00pm) prior to the service. The 2:30 pm service will also have a live stream internet broadcast focused to the podium area only. To share a memory of Cecelia or leave a special message for her family, please visit the guestbook below.

To view a live stream of Cecelia's service, click here: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/authorise.php?k=1640653355155988