KILMARNOCK, Va. -- Barbara Lee "Mysie" Brown, a longtime Northern Neck resident, was recently honored with a drive-by parade for a milestone birthday.
Brown's family organized the parade on Saturday for her 80th birthday on Sunday, Nov. 13.
"We feel so blessed to be able to share this special day with our beautiful mom," Brown's daughter, Glenda Brown-Snowden, wrote.
She called her mother her "biggest blessing" and described the octogenarian as "the sweetest person."
Brown was born in Brown Store, Virginia, and attended schools in Northumberland County and Heathsville, according to her family.
When she wed her husband, the late Samuel A. Brown, in the 1960s, the pair lived in Wicomico Church.
The couple had four girls, Glenda Brown-Snowden, Lynette Brown Carnegie, Gloria Brown Croxton and Lisa Brown Jackson, before moving to Kilmarnock in In 1977.
"My mom and dad made home a place that I always love to be," Brown-Snowden wrote.
Brown has 10 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.
Brown-Snowden said her mom is "a boat load of laughs" who is known for her "comical sayings."
Brown's favorite restaurant is Red Lobster and she loves butterfly shrimp, chicken and collard greens, according to her daughter.
She loves watching her soap operas, "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy."
"The family knows it will truly be a short phone conversation if you call while her game shows are on," Brown-Snowden wrote.
She also enjoys old school music.
Brown, who is fondly known to many as 'Mysie,' is always willing to help neighbors in need, especially with food, according to her daughter.
The woman of faith attends First Baptist Church in Heathsville and attributes her longevity to taking life as it comes.
"My mom (and dad) taught her children to trust in God and to always pray about everything. She is quick to say, 'give it to the Lord,'" Brown-Snowden said. "One of her favorite bible verses is 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' ...Matthew 7:12."
When asked if she had any words of wisdom as she enters her 80s, Brown said to enjoy life to its fullest and not to worry about things that you cannot change.
"If you don’t succeed at first, pick yourself up and try and try again," she told her daughter. "Be happy!"
Happy Birthday, Mrs. Brown!
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