Gloria Major Brown
A Mother To Us All

I will never forget when Gigi took me to task while standing in my girlfriend Caroline's kitchen. Gloria Major Brown was our friend, and advisory board member Caroline MacDougal's mother. But when Caroline moved Gigi to Santa Barbara nine years ago, Gigi became mother to us all. Gloria, or Gigi, as we got to affectionately call her, was also a friend. She was young at heart and youthful in her beauty--always a contemporary woman. She gave generously of the wisdom of her one hundred years. I could not have been happier that evening, and the following day, in reflection upon Gigi's words. Yes, for the wisdom of what she had said, but even more so, because I had not been so lovingly taken to task since my own mother had passed years before. Thank you, Gigi, for having been in this world.

Gloria expertly navigated raising two daughters, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, marriage to three husbands, and long-term relationships with a boyfriend or two. She had a successful real estate career on the East Coast, spent summers at her beloved nudist colony well into her nineties, and she fit right in with the Santa Barbara community the moment she arrived to live here fully and independently. I had the absolute pleasure of taking Gigi to lunch last year to celebrate her ninety-ninth birthday where we stumbled upon an estate sale of the late Santa Barbara philanthropist, Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree. There in the case was a magnificent silver Tiffany tea pot which Gigi pointed out. Not surprisingly, she had the same family heirloom in her own home. Again, we recently celebrated Gigi's one-hundredth birthday by returning to the same spot with a blue Pacific Ocean glistening in the background, and with her powerful presence that day we had dreams of returning there to celebrate again and again.

Gigi's passing was with the same grace and elegance with which she lived her life, and her daughter Caroline's midwifery through the dying process was done with the same elegance and grace. Two days before she departed, Ganga and I had the opportunity to be with Gigi during her transitional time. Classically, she had a smile for both of us and a few choice words. We share the following link to Caroline's written tribute to her mother. True to Caroline's wise-woman lineage, it is almost a handbook for transitioning with a loved one. Again last week, Ganga and I went with Caroline and her husband Gerry and had the honor of accompanying Gigi's body to the gates of fire for the final stage of her journey.

Gigi, you were one in a million, an inspiration, and we are grateful for every moment we had with you. You were such a class act, and your departure, while leaving us to navigate on our own, gave us yet another piece of wisdom to follow.

teeccino.com/blogs/news/on-death-and-grace