Willmetta DeVenne Brown
Jul 10, 1929 -
Apr 11, 2022
Willmetta DeVenne Brown, "Metta," age 92, died at home in Chugiak, Alaska, surrounded by family and love on April 11, 2022. Metta was an avid hiker, often seen cruising the neighborhoods in Chugiak, or on the Service and Hillside trails in Anchorage, Alaska. An avid fisherwoman, she spent many summers with her "sister" Joan DeVenne at their fishing cabin at Lake Caughnawana in Quebec, or dipnetting with her grandchildren on the Kenai.
Metta is survived by her daughter, Darcy Brown; daughter, Tammas Brown and husband Lance Ahern; loving grandchildren, John, Isaac and wife Kivalina, Nathan and Alden; and sister-in-law, Joan DeVenne and children Kimberly and Jim and their families. She was preceded in death by her husband, John "Tad" Brown; beloved brother, James A. DeVenne; older siblings, John W. DeVenne, Jane D. Amor and Pat Von D. Westerhuyzen; and parents, John C. DeVenne and Willmetta S. DeVenne.
Metta, born on July 10, 1929, grew up with her partners-in-crime Jane Sobczyk and Susan Berry in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and graduated from Wellesley College in 1951. Metta moved with her husband Tad to Mexico City to start a food manufacturing business, Gustinos. While in Mexico, Metta explored Mexican culture and expanded on her love of the ocean and coastlines. Their family returned to Ohio and lived in Hinckley, where she completed her Masters in Social Work at Case Western and worked for Catholic Social Services for many years. In 1998, Metta moved to Anchorage to help raise her grandchildren.
In her youth, before World War II, Metta travelled to Europe where she learned to ski gracefully, which she continued in Alaska. Her hobbies included gardening and watching British detective series with family. She was an avid reader and a traveling partner for sister Joan, most recently visiting the Amazon. "Metta Bird" will be remembered by friends and family for her adventurous spirit and her love and care for her extended family and will be sorely missed on the hiking trails this summer.
