Vanessa Brown

Vanessa Joan Brown of Charlton, passed away on November 28, 2009, with her family by her side. Vanessa was a vibrant, spirited, extremely gracious, yet determined woman whose personality drew many friends to her throughout her too brief life. Her large extended family and all of her friends, including her six lifelong friends from Maine, will miss her and that wonderfully infectious laugh. In addition to her husband of 23 years Mike Perkins, daughter Astra, and son Taylor, she leaves her father, Merton Brown, and his wife Claire of Brewer, Maine; her brother Keith, and his son Jason, also of Brewer, and her close cousin Andrea Veazey. She was predeceased by her mother Eloise Gott and by brothers Leslie and Terry many years ago; she also leaves an extended family of many aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members in Maine, Florida, and California. Vanessa was born November 5, 1956 in Castine, Maine and grew up in Bucksport, Maine, where she spent summers swimming in the lakes, raking blueberries, and exploring with her many friends. She graduated from Bucksport High School in 1975, where a guidance counselor once told her that she could expect to work in a local sweater factory for minimum wage. Instead, she earned an Animal Science Associate's degree from the University of Maine at Orono. Soon thereafter she moved to Worcester and started working on her Bachelor's degree at Worcester State College. When she finished that, she went on to earn a Master's degree in Health Education. At the age of 23, she and a friend spent 3 months driving across the United States, saw many famous and obscure corners of the country, and kept many wonderful memories of the trip. After moving to Charlton, she served as president of the Charlton Garden Club for several years and was a member of the Rider Tavern Committee. She worked at the University of Massachusetts-Memorial Medical Center for 25 years, most recently in the position of Manager of the Institutional Research Board. While at UMass, she earned the respect, admiration, and love of many colleagues, including doctors, PhDs, department chairs, distinguished researchers, and many other professionals. Vanessa accomplished many things in many areas, but she never did get around to working in that sweater factory. The family wishes to thank Lucie Lajeunesse and the staff at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home for their loving care and support. Friends and relatives are invited to visit with the family, Tuesday, December 1st from 5 pm to 8 pm in the Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel, 370 Plantation Street, Worcester. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rose Monahan Hospice care of the VNA Hospice 120 Thomas St. Worcester 01608, the American Cancer Society, 350 Plantation St Worcester 01604 and the Charlton Public Library, 40 Main St. Charlton. A graveside service will be held in the spring in Orland, Maine.