Mention the initials "KM" to practically anyone of a certain age who attended Atlanta's Washington, Turner and Douglass high schools and it's a good chance they'll know who you're talking about.
Dr. Katheryn Brown taught biology and horticulture on those campuses over her 44-year career. Her last assignment was as an assistant principal at Walter F. George High School.
The educator -- KM was the abbreviation of her maiden name -- was known for being a tough, firm yet fair teacher. She demanded a lot out of her students, just as she did her only son, Hasell Brown Jr. It was the same way she was raised in Charleston, S.C., the daughter of Margaret and the Rev. Jesse E. Middleton Sr., now deceased.
"I would say the best word to describe her is ‘formidable,'" her son said. "Whatever my mother did, she did with purpose and that was in education or her church. You imagine how she was with me as a child."
On Feb. 13, Dr. Katheryn Vernethea Middleton Brown died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at the Summerset assisted living community. She was 89. A local memorial was held Wednesday. Another service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston.
Dr. Brown attended segregated public schools in Charleston, then went on to earn five degrees: a bachelor's of science from Allen University; master's degrees from Cornell University and Atlanta University; a doctor of humanities degree from Ball State University and a doctor of education degree from Atlanta University.
"Education is a family thing. I've got two master's degrees myself," her son said. "My mother wasn't going to be denied. When you are the daughter of a minister, education is prized and emphasized. And she was gifted."
She taught biology at Washington High from 1949 to 1956. She then joined the staff at Turner (1957-1968) and Douglass (1969-1976). She moved into administration at Walter F. George High in southeast Atlanta and retired in 1986.
Dr. Brown was active in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and belonged to Atlanta's Cosmopolitan AME Church. She was the first female president of the Connectional Lay Organization, an international non-clergical arm of the church that promotes understanding of Methodist principles. She instituted several programs during her eight-year tenure, said Gloria Byrd, president of the sixth Episcopal church district.
"She started the scholarship fund and she implemented a lot of things that had not been in place," she said.
Dr. Brown loved to dance, sing and play golf in her younger years. Hasell David Brown Sr., her husband of over 30 years, died in 1974.
"She had a great life," her son said.
Additional survivors include a brother, Ernest Middleton of Charleston; a sister, Adele M. Weathers, also of Charleston; and two grandchildren.
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