Janet Lillian (Riddell) Brown

Janet Lillian (Riddell) Brown, age 88, of Newark, DE, passed away early Friday morning, November 22, 2024, surrounded by loved ones.

Born in Hackensack, NJ on September 13, 1936, she was the daughter of the late James Norman and Lillian Helene (Geiszler) Riddell. Janet married Frederick Russell Brown on December 3, 1956 and were together for almost 41 years raising a family first in Floral Park, NY, then Pittsburgh, PA, followed by Dover, DE, and finally moving the family to Ellicott City, MD.

Janet was first and foremost a loving wife, mother, and homemaker to her husband Fred and their three children. Prior to, during, and afterwards, Janet attended Douglass College for Women in NJ, followed by curriculum at the McDowell School of Fashion. This path led to employment with Spadea and then Simplicity Pattern Companies. After a couple decades raising her three children, she completed certification requirements and received her realtor license and found employment with Skirven Realty in MD. After suffering and later recovering from a serious head trauma injury during a bicycle accident, she became a huge advocate for wearing safety helmets. Her activism in schools, at City Hall, with local government officials, and with the police department resulted in laws passed for the mandatory wearing of safety helmets by minors in Howard County, MD. Janet moved closer to her daughter and grandson by building a house in Newark, DE. There, she volunteered an exorbitant number of hours for many years teaching sewing basics in the 4-H program and tutoring Elementary and Middle School students in various subjects with a strong focus on her expertise in Mathematics. She had a passion for sewing, playing the piano, and repurposing/recycling household-generated waste for the school arts program. She enjoyed riding her bicycle, volunteering as a Cub Scout Den Leader, dancing on the Dover Follies Rockette team and Square Dancing. She also took up playing golf with family and joined a women’s league where she experienced the thrill of a Hole-in-One!

In addition to her parents, Janet was preceded in death by her brother Malcolm Norman Riddell of Sylvania, OH. She is survived by her former husband of Baltimore, MD, her son and daughter-in-law Douglas Richard and Ann Marie Brown of Middletown, DE, her son and daughter-in-law Robert Charles and Diane Elizabeth Brown of Greer, SC, and her daughter and son-in-law Cheryl Lynn and William George Stump of Newark, DE; her grandchildren Aric Stephen of Franklin, OH, Alise Marie of Campobello, SC, Brandon Ty of Newark, DE, Joseph Cyril of Greenbackville, VA, Kayla Paige of Holiday, FL, and Kerri Elizabeth of Dover, DE; and a fourth generation of great grandchildren Walker Ryan of Campobello, SC, Elizabeth Grace, Landen James, and Logan Scott of Dover, DE.

A visitation for family and friends will be held from 11 am to 12 pm on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 121 West Park Place, Newark, DE, where a funeral service will begin at noon. A private entombment will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Janet’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601 or online by clicking here.