ANNIE LEE B. MARION
Annie Lee Brown Marion, born Feb. 8, 1926, in Sumter, died on Monday, July 16, 2018. She was a daughter of James Baldwin Brown and Annie Geneva Hatfield Brown.
Ann grew up in Sumter surrounded by 11 siblings, all of whom have predeceased her. This large, close-knit family was her passion and spending time with them was her greatest joy. She graduated from Sumter High School and immediately entered the work force in an era when many young women did not. She worked briefly as a secretary for minor league baseball and also worked for several years at Shaw Air Force Base.
Ann married Lt. Ants Wiise of the U.S. Air Force, originally of Estonia, in 1950, and their daughter, Paula, was born later that same year. Lt. Wiise died in 1952 and, in 1958, Ann married Bill Marion, whom she met at Shaw Air Force Base. Bill and Ann moved the family to Macon, Georgia, where their son, Jim, was born in 1961. While living in Macon, Ann continued to work for the Air Force at Robins Air Force Base, rising to the level of GS12. She became a member of, and later president of, the Georgia Chapter of the Business & Professional Women's Foundation. Ann and Bill remained in Macon until 1985, when they retired to Columbia to be closer to Ann's family.
While living in Columbia, Ann was a docent for the Historic Columbia Foundation and was later the treasurer for the Iris Garden Club.After Bill's death in 2011, Ann moved to Annapolis, Maryland, later in 2013 near her daughter's family. In late 2017, she moved to the Atlanta area, near her son.
The family gratefully acknowledges the care and attention Ann received from the staff at Sunrise of Annapolis and Sunrise of Johns Creek, who helped to make Ann's last years more comfortable.
Ann was preceded in death by her brothers, JW Brown, Raymond Brown, Cecil Brown, Thomas Brown, Carl Brown, James Brown, Leland Brown and Dr. Alec Brown; and her sisters, Kathleen Brown Parker, Bernice Brown Dombrosky and Alene Brown Hawkins.
Ann is survived by her daughter, Paula Wiise McFarland of Annapolis; her son, Jim Marion and his wife, Mary Beth, of Atlanta; her grandchildren, Kelly Drennon Karpovich and her husband, Bill, of Baltimore, Matthew McFarland and his fianc e, Jiyoung Kang, of San Francisco, and Jeffrey McFarland and his wife, Megan, of San Francisco; and her great-grandchildren, Nicholas Karpovich, Ana Grace Karpovich, James McFarland and Charles McFarland.
Ann is also survived by her brother-in-law, Paul Hawkins of South Carolina; her sisters-in-law, Patsy A. Brown, Sybil B. Brown and Clare G. Brown, all of South Carolina; sister-in-law, Mari Zarins of Estonia; sister-in-law, Riina Viise of Massachusetts; brother-in-law, Michael Viise of Iowa; special friends, Marie and Carlton Driskell of Macon; many fond nieces, nephews, cousins and their families; and friends who enjoyed her company over the years through work, garden clubs and the Georgia chapter of the Business & Professional Women's Foundation.
"The General" will be particularly missed at the large family reunions of the Brown and Hatfield families. Family was the most important thing in the world to Ann and she leaves a legacy of loyalty and commitment to that family.
A memorial service will be held to honor Ann's life at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Bullock Funeral Home, 1190 Wilson Hall Road, Sumter, SC 29150.
Ann loved flowers and would be honored by your contributions to your favorite garden club or to your favorite charity.
You may go to www.bullockfuneralhome.com and sign the family's guest book.
The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home for the arrangements.