Amherst, MA – Gillian G. “Jill” Brown, passed away peacefully at home in Amherst, Massachusetts, May 30, 2026 at the age of 93. She lived a life of gratitude, surrounded by family, friends and nature.
She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Betty Filby Edmunds and Gerald Kenneth Geerlings on October 5, 1932. Jill, and her older sister Barbara, were raised in New Canaan, CT and received their elementary education from Ms. Margaret Kelly in New Canaan’s last one-room school house on Carter Street. Jill continued her education at the Thomas School in Rowayton before entering Radcliffe College for the class of 1954, where she majored in Art History and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Later she attended Fairfield University for a Baccalaureate in Nursing and worked as a Home Health Nurse in inner-city Bridgeport, CT.
Jill met her beloved husband, David D. Brown III at Harvard where he was in law school, while at Radcliff and in her senior year they married in Bedford, NY at St. Matthew’s Episcopal church. They eventually moved to New York City where David worked as a lawyer, and would settle in Darien, CT where they raised their three children. David and Jill ultimately moved to Amherst, MA to live near their children and join the Applewood Community.
Jill held a special love for the natural environment and could be found outdoors in all seasons. She enjoyed gardening and had a deep love of agriculture, working summers as a young adult on Margie and Chas Jones’ farm on Black Locust Road in Putney, Vermont. More recently she served on Applewood’s Orchard Arboretum Committee. Jill loved dogs and cats and continued to appreciate chickens and cows. In addition, she had an appreciation for the arts and New York City and traveled regularly to the Frick Collection museum and the Metropolitan Opera House for the American Ballet Theatre.
She was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church and while in Darien volunteered with St. Luke’s Church’s Person to Person Program providing food, clothing and other services to the community. She worked with Stamford’s underserved communities and with three generations of Laotian immigrants displaced by the Vietnam War.
Jill enjoyed working as a wife and mother. Her husband David passed away in February 2020, and she is survived by her children, Geoffrey Brown, David D. Brown IV, and Jennifer Brown, and her nine grandchildren: Paulina,, Matilda, Nicholas, Elizabeth, Daniel, Sophie, Tara, George and Aidan. Family members with their partners, and the Applewood community, exuberantly gathered with her in her final days.
Jill carried herself with grace and will be remembered for her compassion and enduring kindness. Her wisdom, creativity and humanity remain an inspiration to all who knew her.
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