NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- Marilyn Anne (Pierson) Brown, 76, of North Washington Street died Wednesday, June 28, 2006, in Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, North Providence, R.I. She was the wife of the late Robert E. Brown Sr., who died in 2002.

Born Jan. 6, 1930, in Quincy, she was a daughter of the late Thomas and Marion (Bancroft) Pierson. Mrs. Brown was a graduate of Gardiner High School, Gardiner, Maine. She then attended Kennebec School of Business.

Marilyn, fondly known by some as "Brownie," began her nursing career as a licensed practical nurse for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health at the Foxboro State Hospital. She was a 1971 graduate of Massasoit Community College, Brockton, Mass., receiving an associate's degree in nursing. After becoming a registered nurse she was employed by Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, and Maples Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wrentham.

Mrs. Brown was a volunteer in every sense of the word and through her gift of nursing and voluteerism she touched many lives. She volunteered for the Serve Program in North Attleboro, Food N' Friends Soup Kitchen held in the Grace Episcopal Church, North Attleboro Town Hall and the Maples Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was a member of the North Attleboro Council on Aging, currently serving as secretary, and was a very active member of the First Baptist Church, North Attleboro. She was an avid reader and enjoyed knitting, bingo and the New York Giants. Her greatest joy were her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and spending time with family and friends.

She was fortunate to have many of those friends and family in Maine as well, spending many summers there, maintaining residences in Richmond and Belgrade Lakes.

Most recently she enjoyed the summers at her son's home on Cobbossee Lake in Winthrop, Maine.

She is survived by a daughter, Bette L. Bristow, of North Attleboro and a son, Robert E. Brown Jr., of Winthrop; sister Shirley Manson of North Attleboro, Faylene and her husband, Lewis York, of Tulsa, Okla., Robert Pierson of North Attleboro and Francis and his wife, Phyllis Pierson, of North Attleboro; grandchildren Jennifer and Amanda Brown, Stacy (Bristow) Forte, Caitlin Bristow, and Ryan and Andrea Brown; great-grandchildren Brandon Bristow, and Emily and Tyson Forte; also several nieces and nephews.

She was the mother of the late Michael E. and Kathryn Brown and sister of the late Thomas and Michael Pierson.

Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on July 5 at the Kincer Funeral Home, 14 Church St., Richmond, Maine. Burial will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 6, in the new Maine Veterans Cemetery, Mount Vernon Road, Augusta, Maine.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Food N' Friends Soup Kitchen, c/o the Attleboro Area Council of Churches, 7 North Main St., Suite 200, Attleboro, MA 02703, or the Memorial Fund, c/o the First Baptist Church, 75 Park St., North Attleboro, MA 02760.