BIOGRAPHY

Dorothy Brown was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, on 1 May 1907, to Michael Corcoran and Nellie Sullivan. Dorothy was born at home on Tilden Avenue and was baptized at the Church of the Holy Cross in Brooklyn. Her parents were born in New York City in 1859 and 1871, and all four of her grandparents, along with one great-grandmother, were born in Ireland and immigrated to New York City. Dorothy had five brothers and three sisters.

Her father worked as a printer, first in New York City and later in Philadelphia, during difficult economic times. Every weekend, when he returned home to Brooklyn, he would bring Dorothy magazines and chocolate from Lofts’ Candy Store. Dorothy had a long walk through Prospect Park from her home in Flatbush to The Manual Training High School on 7th Avenue in downtown Brooklyn. After graduating, she worked as a clerk for Metropolitan Life Insurance for two years.

Dorothy met Daniel Francis Brown, a New Yorker, at a house party in Brooklyn. After he proposed, he took a job as a police officer with the Miami Police Department. At the age of 19, with two dresses given to her by her sisters, Dorothy sailed to Miami aboard the Steamship Seminole. The local Catholic priest checked in on Dorothy at the motel where she was staying, and Dan’s fellow officers collected 3,600 pennies to contribute to their honeymoon. The couple was married on 16 June 1926, at the Church of the Holy Name in Miami, Florida. The couple had three children: Muriel, Alice, and Gerald.

After returning to Brooklyn, Dan joined the New York Police Department and was assigned to the 103rd precinct. Once her children were grown, Dorothy began a career in retail sales, working for Rogers Peet in Manhattan until her retirement in 1974. She then worked for Dunhill’s at Rockefeller Center, where her clients included Tony Randall, Walter Cronkite, Jack Lemmon, and Carol Channing.

Upon retiring from Dunhill’s in her 70s, Dorothy became the head of travel for the Senior Club at St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in Bensonhurst, a role she held until the age of 91. At some point, Dorothy joined the Jeanette & Morris Kessel Volunteer Services Department at Beth Israel Hospital, where she served as a patient liaison and knitted blankets for preemies. She also delivered yarn and picked up completed preemie blankets from elderly shut-in friends.

Dorothy lived independently in her own apartment until she was 101, when she moved into assisted living at the Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center in Dyker Heights. In February 2019, at the age of 111, the staff at NCHHC suggested it might be time to consider a nursing home. Dorothy then moved to a nursing home in Framingham, Massachusetts, where her family was able to visit her daily.

Dorothy Brown passed away in Framingham, Massachusetts, on 26 November 2019, at the age of 112 years, 209 days. She was survived by two daughters, Muriel McCleave and Alice B. McMorrow, six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and a great-great grandson.

RECOGNITION

At the time of her death, was the oldest known person living in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Upon her passing, she was succeeded by Hazel Plummer.

Brown’s age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) on 18 September 2019. This validation was later recognized by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

* “112-year-old woman honored as Framingham’s oldest resident” – MetroWest Daily News, 26 June 2019

* “Framingham’s oldest resident dies at age 112” – MetroWest Daily News, 2 December 2019

* Dorothy M. Brown Obituary – Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service

GALLERY