Mrs. Maynard Griggs Brown

At age 102 Mrs. Brown is West Georgia’s oldest known living alumna. She is a retired educator who attributes her longevity to her faith and ling by the Golden Rule. Growing up in Fayette County, Mrs. Brown still resides in the house where she has lived most of her life. She has also been a member of her church, Ebenezer Methodist, since 1920. She attended elementary school in the Ebenezer community and went to Fayette County High School. Upon her high school graduation, Mrs. Brown began her teaching career in a one-room school called Winona in Peachtree City.

She took a leave of absence for a few years to raise her family, but in 1947 she lost a child to spinal meningitis, followed by the sudden death of her husband and childhood sweetheart, Raymond. Left with four children to support and not wanting to farm for a living, she decided again to focus on a teaching career. With her mother ‘s help in caring for her small children, Mrs. Brown was able to attend summer school and receive teaching credentials from North Georgia College in Dahlonega. She then came to West Georgia and received a 3- year teaching degree in 1955. She continued to teach in and around Fayetteville for about 40 years, retiring in 1974.

After retirement, Mrs. Brown continued to stay busy and enjoyed fishing, gardening, quilting, and reading. At age 89, she began caring for her great-grandchild, Lily, and did so for the next 12 years. Still able to reside in her home with her oldest son, Jethro, Mrs. Brown says she has been blessed with good health. She takes no prescription medications, only a daily baby aspiring and vitamins for her eyes.

Mrs. Brown has spent a lifetime working hard and has been an inspiring role model as a single mother, and a schoolteacher who has enriched the lives of countless children. When asked about her longevity, she says, “I don’t drink or smoke, I eat a lot of fruit, I keep busy and have a lot of faith.”