Funeral Mass celebrated for Wally Brownell, mother of Father Patrick Brownell

Walburga Ehrhardt “Wally”Brownell, 80, of Morristown, the mother of Father Patrick Brownell of St. Patrick Parish in Morristown, passed away at home surrounded by family on Friday, Jan. 25.

The funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick Church on Jan. 28, with Father Brownell officiating. Interment was in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chattanooga on Jan. 28.

Mrs. Brownell was born July 27, 1938, in Bad Bergzabern, Germany, to the late Jakob and Maria Wien Ehrhardt. She married Paul Brownell of Newbury-Berkshire, England, on Dec. 27, 1959, in Bad Bergzabern.

Paul and Wally spent more than 59 years devoted to each other. Together, they had three children: Father Brownell; Michelle and husband Brian Thompson of Alpharetta, Ga.; and Christina and husband Shane Barron of Auburn, Ala. Mrs. Brownell had four grandchildren: Bruce Thompson, Brian Thompson, Alexandra Barron, and Austin Barron.

Mrs. Brownell was an exemplary homemaker and a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She was ever devoted to her Catholic faith her entire life. She served on the Holy Family Church Altar Guild and as a Pink Lady volunteer at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga.

Mr. and Mrs. Brownell retired to Columbus in 1976 after 21 years as an Army family. They raised their children there before retiring to Morristown in 2016, where they were warmly welcomed at St. Patrick Church.

Mrs. Brownell is survived by her loving husband, Paul; their three children and four grandchildren; her sister, Gertrude Ehrhardt Zedler; nieces Bettina Klesen-Zedler and Erika Zander Henzmann; nephew Hardy Zander; sisters-in-law Dawn Crable Brownell and Judy Kay Newton; and brother-in-law Jesse Maynard.

She is preceded in death by her parents; brother Hermann Ehrhardt; sisters Elisabeth “Liesel” Ehrhardt and Helene Ehrhardt–Zander; mother-in-law Phyllis Maynard; brothers-in-law Roland Maynard, Carl Brownell, and Jason Maynard; and sisters-in-law Pearl Maynard and Lucy Brownell.

The family suggests donations to the St. Patrick Catholic Church Maintenance Fund in Morristown and/or the Hamblen County Humane Society.

The family would like to express gratitude to Mrs. Brownell’s numerous caregivers, Dr. Peter Sutherland of Morristown, and the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.

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