Irene C. Brown
SWANTON: Irene C. Brown a longtime resident of St. Albans and Swanton Vermont, passed away on Saturday, January 14th, 2023, at her home with her family at her side.
She was born on August 8th, 1928, in Littleton, New Hampshire, the daughter of the late Wesley and Pearl (Millette) Knight. On July 19th, 1946, Irene married the love of her life, Kenneth Brown, in Bradford, Vermont.
In 1955 Irene and Kenneth moved to Saint Albans, Vermont, where they made their home for 35 years, before moving to Swanton. She worked at PUDS Snack Bar for many years waitressing, and then at New England Container Company before retiring.
After 35 years in St. Albans, Irene made her home with Kelly and Steve LeBlanc, where she had a front row seat to enjoy her great-grandsons, Chris and Kevin LeBlanc on a daily basis. She loved to go to all of their sporting events and school activities.
Irene’s favorite thing was to be surrounded by her family and all of the kids, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren as well the neighborhood kids. She would love to watch them play for hours.
She loved the sunshine and wanted to be outside every chance she could. She spent many winters in Florida with her sister-in-law Margie and then additional winters in Colorado with Jim and Angela Gaudette. She always loved to “GO”. Some of her travels included Alaska, Hawaii, summer family vacations in Maine to the ocean, and her annual (for 10 years) trip to Las Vegas with her daughters Joyce and Polly. She absolutely loved her trips to the casino.
Irene is survived by her daughters, Joyce Gaudette and Pauline Gaudette; her grandchildren, Kelly (Steve) LeBlanc, Kenneth (Lisa) Gaudette, James (Angela) Gaudette, Stacey (Jason) Marshall; her honorary grandchildren, Denise (John) Payea; her great-grandchildren, Christopher (Ashley) LeBlanc, Kevin (Skyler) LeBlanc, Paige Gaudette, Tyler Gaudette, and Nathan Oster; her great-great-grandchildren, Kinsley and Colton LeBlanc; and special nieces, Diane Bessette and Denise Johnson, and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents and husband, Kenneth Brown, Irene was predeceased by her brother; Rupert Knight, her sister; Pauline Johnson, and her son-in-law, Gary Gaudette.
Irene’s family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the staff of Bayada Hospices, especially Bridget, Heather, Emily, Katie, Carol and Jess in their mother’s journey of care and comfort.
In lieu of flowers, her family asks that memorials may be made to Bayada Hospice Care, 354 Mountain View Drive, Suite 305, Colchester, VT 05446.
A graveside funeral service to be held at the Holy Cross Cemetery, where she will rejoin Kenneth, will be announced later this spring.
Honored to be serving the family of Irene Brown is the Heald Funeral Home, where messages of condolence are welcome at www.healdfuneralhome.com
