Obituary: Alison Brown

Alison attended schools in Boise and graduated from Borah High School in 1967. She attended Willamette University and received a degree in political science. In college she became a member of the Chi Omega sorority. While there she made and maintained friendships that lasted the rest of her life, a pattern that was to be repeated over and over throughout her lifetime.

Although she would have a lifelong love of politics, her true passion lay in helping students from all walks of life. In 1976, she received her master’s degree in speech pathology from Portland State University.

Alison was hired as a speech pathologist for the Hood River County School District in 1977. She traveled to all of the schools from Parkdale to Cascade Locks to see her students. She was noted for her warmth, generosity, and compassion which she used to grow working and personal friendships that lasted well past her 30 year career. She was also known by her family to stay up well into the night creating individualized lessons for each of her many students.

Alison and her husband, Ross Allen Brown, were married in Boise on Nov. 15, 1980. Their son, Ben, was born in 1982, followed by their daughter, Kaitiln, in 1986. Over the course of their 42 year marriage, Ross and Alison enjoyed watching their children participate in their various community ed sports from basketball to swim team. There were also Thanksgiving trips to Boise to see family and a 25 year tradition of camping at Lost Lake every Labor Day weekend, as well as multiple trips to Wallowa Lake, a family favorite.

Upon her children graduating from college, Alison retired in 2007 and began a life of retirement. After having her two knees replaced, Alison started walking nearly everyday with her great friend Pat Fisher and numerous others. She and Ross enjoyed traveling together. Some of Alison’s favorite trips included the Georgia Coastline, New Orleans, Zion National Park, Cozumel, Mexico, and her most recent trip to Hawaii. These trips were made only more enjoyable by the friends and family who would join.

Alison is survived by her husband of 42 years, Ross, and her two children, Benjamin Robert Brown and Kaitlin Daines Brown, as well as Ben’s wife Jena Flatau and their child Nora Grace Flatau-Brown. She is also survived by her brother Gordon and his wife Susan, and sister Holly and her husband Todd, as well as too many friends to count.

A celebration of life for Alison was held on Monday, Feb. 13 at Hood River Valley Christian Church. In lieu of flowers, donations for a memorial bench can be made care of Anderson’s Tribute Center or to the SMART reading program of Hood River County School District, where Alison was involved and loved to read.

Visit www.AndersonsTributeCenter.com to leave a note of condolence for the family.