Jane Swain Brown

Jane Swain Brown of Burlington, North Carolina passed away after a brief illness, surrounded by family on June 13, 2021. Jane was well known for her independent spirit and her genuine, natural interest in everyone privileged to know her. As a young girl growing up in Plymouth, N.C., Jane’s aspiration to become a foreign correspondent parlayed into a lifelong curiosity in history and issues unfolding across the globe. She travelled extensively, equally intrigued by cosmopolitan cites and third-world destinations. A vigilant student of international current events, she welcomed the opportunity for lively debate. Alongside her passion for the unfamiliar, she enjoyed and appreciated many treasures closer to home such as southern fried chicken, eastern North Carolina oysters, and a proper Bloody Mary. These attributes along with her unique and generous heart kept her close to her four beloved children, fifteen grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren. Jane’s legacy of independent thinking and industriousness inspires and unites her family who will dearly miss her and forever feel her influence. Jane enjoyed a brilliant career with Weyerhaeuser Corporation in Human Resources in Plymouth, and later, Morrisville, N.J. She was elected and served as County Commissioner in Washington County, N.C., and she was an active member of Grace Episcopal Church in Plymouth and Church of the Holy Comforter in Burlington. Her hobbies were many, including a passion for gardening inherited from her father, and her paints and palette were never far away. A devoted grandmother, her fifteen grandchildren enjoyed spending time in Grandmama Jane’s “pink palace”, the preferred hue of her décor and much of her wardrobe. Most memorable were the grandchildren’s manners camps where she would inject her signature mix of no-nonsense instruction and irreverent fun. Jane was born in Charlotte, N.C. to her parents Ina Lucius Polk and Morgan Jerome Polk on August 21, 1931. She was predeceased by her two husbands, Robert D. Swain (father of her four children) and Walter M. (Buster) Brown III; her brother, Jerome Polk (Pat); and her grandsons, John O. Koach and Jeffrey P. Swain Jr. She is survived by her sister, Jacqueline Edwards (Bruce); her children, Robert D. Swain Jr. (Patty), Jennifer S. Koach (Jack), Jeffrey P. Swain (Jean), and Janie S. Molster (John). Her grandchildren, Justine K. Autry (Rob), R. Darden Swain (Sonia), Jessica K. Buxton (Jeff), Caroline S. Strehle (Josh), Jocelyne S. Koach, Hadley S. Kirkland (Tripp), John S. Molster Jr. (Steph), Robert D. S. Molster (Jenna), Pierre B. Molster (Ashton), Oliver H. Swain, Ellery M. Swain, M. Swain Molster, and Isabel P. Molster. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Swain, Jackson and Serena Autry; Tyler and Mia Rodgers; Layla and Morgan Buxton; Sadie, Theodore and Shepherd Strehle; Jack Joseph, Owen and Genevieve Terilli; Mary Seaton, Rhodes and Louise Kirkland; and Ford, George, Troy and Louis Molster; as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins. Family visitation will be held Tuesday, June 29th, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., in the Gathering Place at The Village of Brookwood, 1860 Brookwood Ave., Burlington N.C. A celebration of Jane’s life will be held at Grace Episcopal Church at 106 Madison St. in Plymouth, N.C. on Friday, August 20 at 2:00 p.m.

Jane Swain Brown

August 21, 1931 - June 13, 2021