Martha Pauline (Gerber) Brown was a Pandora native
Martha Pauline (Gerber) Brown, 97, native to Pandora, died Jan. 12, 2015, in Birmingham, Ala. She was born July 27, 1917.
She was preceded in death by second son, Jared Paul Brown who died 3 days after his birth on Feb. 25, 1948, and by her husband and missionary co-worker for 68 years, Rev. Dr. O. Carl Brown, Jr., on Nov. 12, 2010.
She is survived by two sons, Rev. Dr. David A. Brown (Carol) from Birmingham, Ala.; and Darryl J. Brown (Robin) from Kenneth City, Fla.; 8 Grandchildren, and 10 Great-grandchildren.
She was born to Manes and Elizabeth Hilty Gerber, and sister Mary Ellen, five years older. She grew up on a Pandora farm and attended St. John Mennonite Church.
She graduated from Moody Bible Institute, attended Taylor University, married O. Carl Brown, Jr., Sept. 6, 1942. She assisted her husband as pastor, Bible college professor, and missionary in Haiti for 21 years with the Missionary Church and World Gospel Mission.
They retired from Haiti in 1984 returning to Ft. Wayne, Ind., then to a new home in Pandora, for 10 years, downsizing to Bradenton Missionary Village in Fla., and finally to move in with son David and Carol in Birmingham, Ala.
In Birmingham, she was a member of Brewster Road Alliance Church.
Funeral services will begin at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 17, at St. John Mennonite Church, Pandora, with visitation one half hour prior to the service.
Burial will be in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Pandora. Memorial contributions may be made to World Gospel Mission, “Brown Share Division,” PO Box 948, Marion, IN 46952-0948.
Arrangements are by Chiles-Laman Funeral and Cremation Services, Bluffton. Online condolences may be expressed at www.chiles-lamanfh.com.
Stories Posted This Week
Friday, October 16, 2026
Thursday, October 15, 2026
- DeWine announces $200M Rural Health Transformation program award
- Herb program with Marge Lafollette, Oct. 15
- Prairie seeding activity at Bluffton University, October 24
- Food for thought: Choline for the brain
- Results for 5K on October 2, Bluffton University Homecoming event
- 15 minutes with Sherry Miller, senior center activities coordinator
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, October 14
- CANCELLED Main St. closure on October 15
- Frederick Clyde Warren founded True-2-Form Plastics
- October 15 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- Pirate boys soccer beats Wapak in regular season finale
- Pirate girls soccer defeats Liberty Center
- Mennonite pastor to explore ‘good news’ in creation
- Bluffton University earns recognition in U.S. News & World Report rankings
- Obituary for Deborah "Debbie" Welch, 74
- Spirits and exorcism presentation during University Spiritual Life Week Forum
- Dodging bullets: Bluffton oral history 90+ years after Dillinger robbery
- Nora Matthews named BHS Student of the Month for September 2026
- ICAPP analysis on charter status and local autonomy
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, October 13
- Bluffton area Women in Business meeting October 15
- Leo club glasses collection
- Night at the (Swiss Historical) Museum, October 24
- Woodcarving ornament workshop at Swiss Heritage Center
- Barefoot nature walks at the Nature Preserve
- Pirate volleyball seeded 4th
- Beavers sports roundup, October 6-11
- Bluffton leaf pickup scheduled for last week of October
- Pirate boys soccer shuts out Bellefontaine
- Watch an after school movie at the Bluffton Public Library
- Dunlap awarded OSBA humanitarian award