Obituary of Helen Jean Brown

A memorial service for H. Jean le Poer Trench Brown, 89 will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, May 2, 2009 at All Saints' Episcopal Church, 9601 Frankford Avenue, Northeast Philadelphia.

Mrs. Brown a World War II pilot who operated a family farm and stores in Bucks County, died of heart failure February 11 at Artman Lutheran Home in Ambler.

"Flying became an obsession with me in 1941" Mrs. Brown told Betty Stagg Turner when she was interviewed for Out of the Blue and Into History, Turner's 2001 book about the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

When Mrs. Brown learned that Piper Aircraft Company was offering flying lessons to factory employees for $2.50 an hour, she moved from her home on Staten Island to the Piper plant in Lock Haven, PA., and worked the night shift so she could fly during the day. After earning her pilot's license and sufficient flight hours, she joined the WASP and ferried new airplanes to air bases all over the county.

In the summer of 1944, fewer piloting jobs bcame available to the WASP and Mrs. Brown resigned to be a Red Cross worker. She ran a "club-mobile" at U.S. Army Air Bases in England, where she met her future husband, Geoffrey Alan Brown.

She and her husband married in 1946, and they raised three children on Seven Oaks Farm in Chalfont. They operated the farm and a series of shops selling produce, eggs, nursery plants, artwork, handcrafted items, and general store goods to their neighbors.

After she and her family left thje farm in 1966 Mrs. Brown was an administrative assistant in the Pulmonary and Cystic Fibrosis Center at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. She later worked at Morris Arboretum.

A talented writer, she contributed articles to various publications including the Morris Arboretum newsletter and Green Scene, the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society's magazine.

After retiring at 65, Mrs. Brown volunteered at the Doylestown Public Library. She and her husband moved from Doylestown to the Artman Home last year.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Brown is survived by a son Geoffrey Jr.; daughters Pamela Benson and Allison; and two brothers.

Memorial donations may be made to the Humane Society of the United States, and mailed to HSUS, Dept. GAIT04, 2100 L St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20037.