Melba Rose Brown

Melba was born August 19, 1929, at Longville, La when Longville was a booming sawmill town. She accepted Christ as her Savior when she was 14 years old, in 1943 at First Baptist Church of Longville. She was baptized in the old mill pond, now called Longville Lake on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

In 1946, the year Melba graduated, the Longville girls’ basketball team competed in the State playoffs where Melba made the final two-point goal, shooting from the center court and winning the State playoff game by one point. She also graduated as Valedictorian of her Senior Class of Longville High School that same year. With a full scholarship, Melba attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La majoring in Business Education for two years.

On July 2, 1948, Melba married the love of her life, Farley Grayson Brown who passed away on August 24, 2014. They celebrated 66 years of marriage together.

Melba worked many years as a Legal Secretary in both Edna, Tx and DeRidder, La. In 1953, she took time off from her profession to have her only child, Beverly Anne Brown Singletary. Melba returned to her job when Beverly started school. During all these years, she taught Sunday School classes beginning with the young Primary children and taught in every department to wind up teaching Adult Ladies classes for about 30 years. She taught Sunday School classes for well over 50 years in all. While attending Beauregard Memorial Baptist Church she also served there as Church Clerk for 15 years.

Melba became a member of Magnolia Baptist Church in Ragley when she and Grayson moved to that community. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, receiving her 50 year pin 2003. She was also a member of the Louisiana Cowbelle Association in DeRidder, La for years. While living over 20 years in Kirbyville, Tx, Melba was an active member of the Senior Citizens Club there, where she and Grayson played “Forty-Two”, a challenging domino game every Thursday night. They, along with some other local Seniors, progressed to the Texas state playoffs where they did very well.

Melba is survived by her daughter, Beverly Anne Brown Singletary and husband Joseph Teal Singletary of Ragley; grand-daughter, Leslie McCain Bell and husband Bill Bell of Kosciusko, Mississippi; 3 great-grandchildren, Alexis Guest, Leila and Rachael Bell; and 1 great great-grandson, Isaiah Tolar; sister, Elta Rae Hauser of DeRidder, La.

She was preceded in death by her husband Farley Grayson Brown; her parents, Ocie Ezell Spikes and Della Anne Weeks Spikes; sisters, Faye Spikes Scott, and Nellie Spikes Whittington; brothers, Ocie Ezell Spikes, Jr., James Owen Spikes and Allen Oneil Spikes.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 1:30pm in Johnson Funeral Home of Moss Bluff with Rev. David Free officiating. Burial will follow in Magnolia Cemetery. Visitation will begin on Thursday from 11:30 to 1:30pm at the funeral home.