Ethel Gwen McClanahan Brown

Funeral services for Gwen McClanahan Brown will be held 2:00 PM, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at Bethany Baptist Church, Hebert, with Bro. Marty Earnest officiating. Interment will follow at Bethany Cemetery under the direction of Riser Funeral Home. Visitation will be held from 11:00 AM until time of service at 2:00 PM at Bethany Baptist Church.

Ethel Gwendolyn McClanahan Brown was born February 10, 1943, in Columbia, LA to the union of her parents, Ruby Ives McClanahan and Annie Hall McClanahan, and she passed from this life to her heavenly home on October 22, 2023, at Haven Nursing Center in Columbia. Gwen was a devoted mother who loved her angels, grand-angels, and great-grand-angels. She was stubborn and meant what she said. Gwen always worked hard and kept a clean house. She got her GED at 33 and went on to get a nursing degree. She loved nursing and was awarded "Nurse of the Year" her first year as an LPN. Gwen enjoyed drinking her coffee and loved Blue Bell ice cream, which she would never share! She loved Jesus, reading her bible, and attending church until her health started declining then she started watching it on TV. Gwen loved people and people loved her. She loved to tell anyone who asked how she was doing that "she was blessed!"

Gwen was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Roger Brown; brothers: Berlon McClanahan, Isaac McClanahan, G.W. McClanahan, Dan McClanahan, and Charles Kennon McClanahan; sisters: Laura Bell Pardue, Edna Godwin, Lois Goins, and Ouida McClanahan; grandson, Seth Shipp; and step-son, Ricky Brown.

Those left to cherish her memory are her sons, Bro. Rod Shipp (Amy) and Sammy Shipp (Cynthia); daughter, Donna Franklin (Shannon); step-children: Robert Mosley (Becky), Gary Brown (Peggy), Rodney Brown (Laura), Michael Brown, and Sandra Brown Lacy; sisters: Vera Woods, Margie Roberts, and Maxine Duchesne; her grand-angels: Charles Heath Shipp (Cassie), Slade Darden, Katie Hammons (Jonathan), Kerry Paul Franklin (Mallory), Victoria West, and Dustin Ewing; great-grand-angels: Charles Lee Shipp, Caitlynn Shipp, Asher Darden, Tristan Darden, Reagan Darden, Rhett Hammons, Addi-Kate Hammons, and Parker Ryan Franklin; special niece, Darlene Reynolds (Roy); best friend, Gwen Meador; and a host of extended family.

Serving as pallbearers will be Slade Darden, Kerry Paul Franklin, Robert Mosely, Jeremiah Clark, Tyron Beckley, and Darrell Speegle. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Mark Operario, Charles Meador, Keith Williams, Dave Williams, and Roy Reynolds.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Mark Operario, the nurses and staff at Caldwell Memorial Hospital, and the nurses and staff at the Haven Nursing Center for their love and care.