Abraham Brown

The Beginning Chapters

Abraham Emanuel Brown (Bram) was born September 28, 1934 to the late Solomon Brown and the late Margaret Graham in St Catherine, Jamaica. He was the youngest of six children; Godfrey Rhule, Randolph Millwood, Vanseta Wright, Daphne Brown and Epsie Brown Taylor, of which five preceded him in death.

The early chapters of his life consisted of growing up on a rice farm in St Catherine and attending school up to the ninth grade. He left school to work on the farm and at an early age started laying the foundation for his work ethic.  Despite being out of school at such an early age, he realized the value of education and would later preach that to his children and grandchildren.

The Middle Chapters

Abraham met the love of his life, Roslyn Mayhew (Rose) in 1962 and they soon started a family together. They both joined the Palm Seventh Day Adventist Church in Treadways, Jamaica where he served as a deacon and she served as a deaconess.  They would later join the Willow Grove Seventh Day Adventist Church, just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  

Throughout his life, the main themes that weaved together his storyline were hard work, the love for and of God, family and pride.  While still in Jamaica, he worked as a supervisor at the Lindstead Market and also maintained a farm at home with crops and animals. This meant long days of work from sunup and beyond sundown.  After moving to Philadelphia, he began work as a general laborer at Betty the Caterer and many others jobs followed which again meant long work hours. He did all this work without complaint because he knew it meant providing for his family, but he also knew he was setting an example for the merits of hard work. 

His love for God and family were very intertwined.  He loved talking about both. He was known to effortlessly quote scriptures and was notorious for his long prayers during family worship services.  He also spoke glowingly about his children and grandchildren to any and everyone who would listen. He relished the role of being a protector and provider for his family.  He made personal sacrifices to send his family to school even while earning a minimal salary.  He never missed a birthday and was known to hold off on going to bed until everyone was in for the night.  He also called and did daily check-ins with family members and cherished family get-togethers.  His dream scenario was to have his entire family huddled together so that he could display his legendary story telling skills.  Even if a story had been told a dozen times, his re-telling made it seem as if it was happening for the first time and he relished the family’s response.

Abraham was also known to be very kind and considerate and would often put himself last so that he could help others.  He was loved in each community that he lived in and was always helpful to neighbors, oftentimes cutting their lawns and shoveling their snow without being asked.

Abraham was also a very proud man.  He was very proud of his family and proud of being his own man despite humble beginnings and circumstances.  He prided himself on being a sharp dresser and believed firmly that presenting yourself neatly and in a well put together manner was more important than what you wore.  He was also proud of the roughness of his hands because it symbolized how hard he had worked throughout his life.  Another area of pride was the sharpness of his mind. He was great at performing complex mathematical calculations in his head without needing a calculator, and was a deep thinker who was especially passionate about politics, and world events.  He would demonstrate his gift with prose by writing or reciting  words that rhymed and twisted in beautiful harmony.  His green thumb was another area of pride since everything he planted flourished. He was known for growing callaloo in Jamaica and in Philadelphia, where he was nicknamed “The Callaloo Man”. 

The Last Chapter

Abraham’s final chapter ended on May 3, 2020 when he lost his fight with the Covid-19 virus. His final pages were filled with the work of God’s hand and ample evidence of the life he had lived as well as the principles he had stressed to his family.  After becoming ill, he had one more chance to be next to his great love while in the hospital as she too was battling the virus. The end came after he bravely and stubbornly fought for a week.  His illness brought an already close knit group even closer together, as the family cleaved to one another to pray, quote scriptures, encourage each other, and tell their own stories about the man who impacted their lives so greatly.  Despite the fact that his story ended on that day, his legacy will live on through those that he left behind.

He leaves cherished memories to: his wife Roslyn Brown (Rose), his children Hector Brown, Yvonne Brown-Burnett, Norma Richards, Marcelene Brown, Elaine Brown, Hopeton Brown, Dwight Brown; his grandchildren Robert Burnett, Natalie Burnett, Latoya Binns, Ren-Nay Brown, Kerry-Ann Richards, Koleen Brown, Devonte Gillepsie, Chenia Brown, Eden Rose Brown; his great grandsons Christopher Cole and Cameron Sadler, great granddaughter Nura Winn and his daughter-in-law Roxanne Brown along with many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Submitted With Love,

The Family   

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