Genevieve E. Brown, the wife of former Palisadian-Post publisher Charles B. Brown, passed away quietly December 28 in the company of her family in her home at Freedom Village in Lake Forest. She was 81. In attendance at the funeral service from Pacific Palisades were Roberta Donohue, Palisadian-Post publisher; Grace Hiney, restaurant editor; and Ed Lowe of the production department. Mrs. Brown, daughter of the late Eda and Joseph Adamic, was born April 17, 1922 in Gilbert, Minnesota, after which the family returned to make their permanent home in Chisholm on the famous Mesabi Iron Range. She was valedictorian of the class of 1940, largest in the history of the Chisholm schools with an enrollment of 220. At a time when plastics were unheard of, her valedictory address, which had to be approved by the superintendent of schools, spoke to “The Future of Plastics.” She achieved the highest rank of Golden Eaglet in the Girl Scouts of America and served as a summer counselor at Camp Joseph Austin on Long Lake. She mastered the violin and held the position of first violin in the high school orchestra as well as performing with the Chisholm city orchestra. She was married at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Chisholm on June 26, 1944 while her husband was on furlough from the Army. She left her position as office manager of the El Queeno Distributing Company, largest on the iron ranges of northern Minnesota, to serve in headquarters at Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana, and Maxwell Air Force Base at Montgomery, Alabama, where her husband was stationed. She returned to Chisholm for the birth of their first child in August 1945. The family moved to California in January 1954 after selling the family newspaper in Chisholm and purchasing the Pacific Palisades Post. In 1960, they bought The Palisadian, and merged the two papers into the Palisadian-Post. The Browns were Palisades residents and lived next door to current publisher Roberta Donohue when she was a young girl. “Growing up next door to Gen and Charley Brown was always such fun,” said Donohue. “When I was 3 (I had two brothers), going next door meant four more kids to play with. As I grew up, so did their family, and three more children came along. Our families did everything together. We shared birthdays and holidays as one big family. Gen was a second mom, and I felt right at home. She was a wonderful and loving mother and wife, and will continue to be in my heart forever.” The Browns sold the Palisadian-Post to the Small Newspaper Group in August 1981. In addition to her husband, Genevieve Brown is survived by her daughter, Charlene Allen of Irvine; three sons, Bruce, Richard and Robert, all residing in the San Diego area; five grandchildren and one great grandson. She was preceded in death by three children: Duane, Bonnie and Teresa, all of whom succumbed as young adults. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated January 5 at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Laguna Hills, with close friend Monsignor John Urell, vicar general to the bishop of the Diocese of Orange and pastor of St. Norbert’s Church in Orange, officiating. Burial was in the family plot at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City with the Reverend Eamon O’Gorman, pastor of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Laguna Beach, officiating.
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