Obituary: Miriam Elizabeth Brown SCN, 98, Nazareth
Miriam Elizabeth Brown SCN, 98, of Nazareth, died March 24, 2021 at Nazareth. She was a native of Olive Hill and was a professed Sister of Charity of Nazareth for 76 years.
After high school, she attended St. Joseph Nursing School in Lexington to obtain her RN. As a young nurse, she worked in several hospitals, including one where she witnessed the first injection of penicillin. She entered the novitiate in 1944.
She carried out a lifelong ministry in health care. Over six decades, she served as a nurse in the following hospitals, St. Joseph Infirmary in Louisville, St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, Ark.; St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington; Flaget Hospital; and Holy Family Hospital in Ensley, Ala., where she served as nursing service supervisor. During her second assignment at St. Joseph’s Infirmary she also served as the local superior.
In 1971 she completed additional schooling in nursing earning a B.S. from Spalding University. That same year she joined a newly formed mobile health unit, Nazareth Home Health. There, she served in a number of capacities including staff nurse, director of nursing, intake coordinator and director of patient care until 1995. As a member of the Caritas Home Health Agency she ministered as the patient care coordinator, until worsening eyesight led her to make the difficult decision in 2005 to leave day-to-day nursing which she dearly loved. She was greatly respected for her knowledge and compassion towards patients of all ages. In recent years, she engaged in caring for other Sisters, as well as in the Apostolate of Prayer. She also enjoyed books on tape from the Kentucky Talking Book Library.
She is survived by one sister, Barbara Anne McMullen; her extended family; and her religious community.
In light of the pandemic, a Memorial Mass will be held at a later date.
The burial is 1 p.m. Monday, March 28, 2021, at Nazareth Cemetery. This prayer ritual will be filmed and shared.
The Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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