Published 5:00 am Wednesday, July 10, 2024 By obitsamericanpress Stella Marie Burris Brown entered the eternal gates of heaven on July 5, 2024 at the age of 94, in a local hospital in Lake Charles, La. She was born Feb. 12, 1930, as the sixth of seven children to Walker and Kittye Burris in Oakdale, La.
but lived her childhood in Kinder, La. She graduated from Kinder High School and attended McNeese State University, where she was picked by the movie star, Gregory Peck, to become the top two MSU beauty queens in 1948. Stella met Cecil Ray Brown from Oakdale on the commuter bus that carried him to Sowela and her to McNeese in Lake Charles.
They would marry in 1949 and live a short time in Franklin, La. before making Lake Charles their home. While raising her five children, she worked various positions as a payroll clerk with Blount Brothers, Porche Plumbing, and Wilson Motor Company.
Stella was a Notary Public and often served others as a contribution to her profession. Stella was a member of the Eastern Star Chapter #164 in Lake Charles, the First Methodist Church of Lake Charles, and the Swinging Rebels Square Dancing Club. She volunteered many hours in the concession stands selling soft drinks, snacks, and homemade pies to raise money for Mid-City Little League Baseball teams, since her husband was President and her four sons played baseball at Huber Park in Oak Park.
Stella loved helping others in need. She also volunteered to host foster children from the Masonic Home in .