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Emmaline Ellis Brown

Emmaline Ellis Brown passed away at her country home in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire on Wednesday, July 12th, 2017. Born on April 10th, 1931 in Wrentham, MA to Henry Ellis Weber and Mary Louise Wing, she attended the Mary Burnham School for Girls and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. She “fell in love at first sight” with Erik Brown, when he walked through the door of The Walpole Inn that her parents owned in New Hampshire. She never lost that first thrill and was deeply devoted to him, as he was to her, until his passing in 2006.

​Together, Emmy and Erik enjoyed a vibrant social life with lots of tennis, as they raised their 4 children in the village center of Amherst, NH. In 1975, with a yearning for adventure and natural beauty, they moved to an apple orchard farm on a hilltop in Lyndeborough, NH. Erik took to the tractor and Emma took to making apple jelly, applesauce, apple cider, and caring for chickens… and over time, even a few stray bulls. She was visited frequently by family and friends, appreciated for her abundant graciousness and unique “catch you by surprise” wit. Describing life on Putnam Hill in the early days, she once wrote in a letter, “Things are quiet around here, but every once in a great while, a car will go by or a plane overhead, and we’ll all jump up and dust off. “

​Emma loved literature and poetry and had a beautiful way with words. Eschewing clichés, she would come up with the most unique phrases and descriptions, often incorporating her quirky sense of humor along with an entertaining theatrical flair. She memorized especially poignant poems and would dramatically recite them at apropos moments. Poetic phrases could pop up on index cards now and then on the farmhouse windowsill overlooking the orchard… “the air is sugared with promise” or “keep an eye out for wandering miracles.”

​She enjoyed hiking the southern NH hills with her friends and dogs, appreciating the drama of the natural world, gardening, reading, philosophical discussion, and most of all hosting gatherings large and small, from extended family holidays to tea parties for her dearest friends, of which she had many. She could be feisty and irreverent, or polite and sophisticated, depending on what the situation inspired in her, but always uniquely herself.

​She was loved by her children, all of whom were near her as she completed her beautiful life: Jared Brown and his wife Jody of Wilton, NH, Aaron Brown and his wife Suzy of Lyndeborough NH, Sarah Garcia and her husband Michael of Washington DC, and Rebecca Brown and her husband John Connolly of Freeport, ME, and 5 grandchildren whom she adored: Emily and Joshua Brown, and Melanie, Nicholas, and Abigail Buck. She is also survived by her sister, June Nygren of Sutton, VT, sister-in-law Lucy McVitty of Walpole, NH, brother-in-law and wife, Bruce Brown and Pam Jeffreys of Arroyo Seco, NM, and beloved nieces and nephews from Vermont to New Mexico. She will be dearly missed by all. She was an original.