Nancy A. Brown

LEXINGTON- Nancy Ann Brown, age 81 and a life-long resident of Lexington, passed away on October 15th after a brief illness. Nancy was born in Lexington on March 9, 1935 to Rebecca Calkins Brown and James E. Brown. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Michael Meyer, who was an early settler in Lexington. Until just a few months before her passing, Nancy lived in the home built by Michael Meyer in 1882, which served as both a family home and a place of business in the 19th and early 20th Century. The family business was blacksmithing and later the manufacture of carriages. Nancy's grandmother Maude Meyer Calkins was an early member of the Lexington Atheneum Literary Society, dedicated to improving the availability of library resources in Lexington. These efforts eventually led to the establishment of the Charles H. Moore Public Library in 1903, where many years later Nancy's cousin Philomena Meyer Falls served as President. Nancy's grandfather Walter Scott Calkins was head cashier and bank director of the State Bank of Applegate and managed its conservatorship at the beginning of the Great Depression. Due to declining health, he never worked again after the bank closed, but found great solace in the birth of Nancy, his first grandchild. Nancy graduated from Croswell-Lexington High School and graduated from Michigan State, receiving both a Bachelors and Masters in Education. After a brief time teaching in Grosse Pointe, she was selected to start an elementary school art program from scratch for the Marysville Public Schools. During school breaks and summers, Nancy traveled widely in the United States and overseas. Nancy loved teaching kids about art, and had fond memories of her 25 years as a teacher. Nancy is survived by her Aunt, Hazel Calkins of Royal Oak, Michigan, and three first cousins Robert (and Barbara, Kathleen, and Bobby) Calkins of Centennial, Colorado, Bryan Calkins of San Francisco, California, and Jeffrey Calkins of Kirkland, Washington. Funeral services were private, and interment was on the family plot in Lexington Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Sanilac County Historical Society.

Nancy A. Brown

March 9, 1935 - October 15, 2016