Age 89, Berryville, Va.
Henrietta Mae Gibson Brown, 89, of Berryville, Virginia died Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at Spring Arbor, Winchester, Va.
Henrietta was born March 18, 1936 to Claude David Gibson and Julia Florence Layman Gibson.
Henrietta grew up on a farm in the foothills of the Massanutten Mountain near Shenandoah, Virginia. After graduating valedictorian, she attended Shenandoah College in Dayton, Va., where she earned a degree in business and was married to Ron, her husband of 68 years. Eventually, they started a family and relocated to Luray, Va. There she worked as a bookkeeper, raised four children, served as a Cub Scout den mother and continued her education.
The family moved to Clarke County, Va., where she began her lifelong dream of teaching children. She graduated with an education degree from Madison College in Harrisonburg, Va. She taught early elementary students until retirement from Clarke County Public Schools, only to begin a second career as a kindergarten teacher in West Virginia until she retired from Berkeley County Public Schools.
She often collected artifacts to display in her classrooms and invited guests dressed as historical figures, bringing education alive for her students. She was known to invite entire classes to her home where she guided them on nature hikes through her woods, identifying wildflowers and plants, treating them to food, games, and tractor, pony cart, and motorcycle rides.
She gardened and canned vegetables and fruits, often enlisting the help of her grandkids to snap green beans. She sewed clothes and outfits, including men’s suits from patterns. She was known for having the best sugar cookies, potato salad, chicken and dumplings, and macaroni salad.
After enrolling in art classes, her home became decorated with her water-color landscapes hung in her husband’s handmade frames.
She treasured spending time and sharing laughs with her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, inventing activities, including the annual Christmas pancake toss. She made Christmas magical. She was an avid reader and enjoyed bible study. She loved the many birds that visited her feeders, including a flock of wild turkeys.
Henrietta is survived by her children, Glenn (Rebecca), Rhonda, and Steven (Heidi), and grandchildren, Matthew (Katie), Erin (Tom), Shannon (Marshall), Morgan (James), Allan, Joshua (Alaina), and Seth (Kerri), and great-grandchildren, Lia, Carson, Braydon, Evan, Payton, Kaydan, Parker, Brooks, Owen, Reid, and Tatum.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. G. Ronald Brown, a brother, Guy Evers Gibson, and a sister, Mildred Cordeila Gibson Kline.
The family will receive friends 10 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at Enders & Shirley Funeral Home, Berryville and at 11:30 a.m. family and friends are asked to follow in procession from the funeral home to Mount Hebron Cemetery for a graveside service.
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