Some heroines are not found in novels.
Their lives unfold like chapters, full of trials, triumphs, and simple moments that shape the person they become. Over time, the details soften, the memories turn poetic, and the woman at the center of the story becomes something more than ordinary.
Heroines are defined not by perfection, but by courage because of choices they make in the darkest chapters. They show their strength when another page turns unexpectedly. These women inspire without trying, simply by living with heart, humor, and resilience.
Everyone has a story, but a heroine leaves behind more than pages. The impact she has on others becomes her legacy, carried forward in the words people speak about her, the lessons she fiercely taught, and the love she wrote through every chapter.
As years pass, how will her story be remembered? As just a name on a family tree, or as the heroine whose legacy still lives between the written lines?
Cathy Brown, my Momma, was a heroine! Barely five feet tall, but somehow bigger than every hardship she ever met. She was feisty, sharp, and tender all at once. A woman shaped by loss, but never defined by it.
Cathy Jane Eccles was born on Sept 24th, 1947. Her parents, Arthur and Jane, were overjoyed to have a baby.
Being an only child, taught Cathy that friendships were valuable. Not knowing what it was like to have a sibling Cathy soon discovered that family could be chosen, not just inherited.
Her younger years were shaped by close-knit bonds spending long, simple days playing with neighborhood friends, and the soft presence of TuffyNuff, her beloved cat and Tippy Tail her dog, always nearby.
She adored her grandmother, a talented dressmaker, and loved watching dresses come to life, often wearing her grandmother’s creations. She was deeply loved by her grandfather, a hunter and skilled wood craftsman who also served as a campground preacher, and his guidance left a lasting imprint on her heart.
As Cathy grew, voice lessons took top priority, leading her to high school choir, winning voice competitions and Youth for Christ programs.
At Youth for Christ, Cathy met her first husband, Edward R Glenn Jr. They married just one day after Cathy’s 18th birthday. Young and hopeful, building their life together on shared faith and a deep desire to serve others, less than three months into their marriage, Eddie was drafted for the Vietnam War, a moment that forever altered the course of Cathy’s life.
Together, Eddie and Cathy dreamed of entering full-time Christian work with young people, and Cathy watched with both joy and heartbreak as Eddie received his acceptance letter to Washington Bible College just one day after learning he had been drafted.
Eddie was quoted in a Sunday newspaper. “I don’t look forward to going to Vietnam any more than the next man, and I am just as scared as the next man, but, if I don’t come back, I know that my heart is right with my Lord.” Cathy took her husband’s hand, holding faith and fear, knowing that loving him meant trusting God with what she could not control.
Eddie served in Vietnam for just four months before his death.
Married just a year and 3 months, Cathy, a new, young widow, took some time to grieve the loss of Eddie before attending Messiah College majoring in English literature, and continuing to sing with Messiah’s choir and band.
Cathy was full of strength, spunk, and her tiny-but-mighty presence was never afraid to stand her ground. She only recently shared a story with her daughters that perfectly captures her spark. “The time she ran from the cops!”
One evening, Cathy and a friend were racing back to Messiah College before curfew. Cathy was flying down the road when her friend asked, “Do you always drive this fast?” At that exact moment, flashing lights appeared in the rearview mirror.
Determined not to be late for curfew, Cathy made a split-second decision and sped up. She managed to pull far enough ahead to duck into a nearby farm, cut the engine, and sit in complete silence. They waited, hearts pounding, until the police car passed by.
It was at Messiah that Jeff Brown and Cathy got reacquainted. Jeff, playing trumpet and Cathy as lead soprano in choir, ended up at many of the same events. Jeff knew Cathy from high school, but said Cathy was too popular and never noticed him.
The Eccles and the Browns also knew each other from church, and as the story goes, Cathy left her pillow at home, and she needed it at college, and it was sent with Jeff to deliver. As Cathy came to the top of the steps, looking down at Jeffrey, holding her pillow, their eyes met, and Jeff knew she was the one!
Jeff and Cathy were married December 26, 1970, in Cathy’s grandfather’s home. Cathy, once again, descending a staircase to meet Jeff, this time at the altar.
Jeff and Cathy graduated from Messiah College and went on to teach and expand an elementary school called Middletown Christian. Jeff, the school’s principal, science teacher, and athletic coach, with Cathy by his side as the English teacher and 3rd and 4th grade teacher, helped get this school off and running.
The school, needing funding for athletic uniforms, started making and selling candles to raise money. The Eccles, Cathy’s parents, owned a few gift shops, and they bought some of the candles to sell in their stores.
In the late 70’s, Jeff left teaching, as the Browns needed more income for their growing family and opened his own company, Keystone Candle.
Cathy continued teaching until her mother’s death, in 1988, after which she joined Jeff at Keystone Candle.”
Even after these hard losses, God remained the author of Cathy’s story and as each new chapter was written, she faced it with courage and stubborn hope.
She moved through life the way only a true heroine can: small in stature, enormous in spirit, and unforgettable to anyone lucky enough to be part of her story.
Cathy learned early on in her life that after grief takes you low, prayer and faith will bring you through the dark days, and she just needed to stand up, dust off her knees and go bravely forward.
Cathy, who continued to sing every day, found a kindred spirit in a dear friend from church, John Jones. Together, they began traveling from church to church, sharing their music and leading special services. Their voices blended beautifully, and what began as a friendship grew into a meaningful musical partnership.
Their ministry eventually led them into the recording studio, where Cathy and John produced a record together. A lasting testament to her love of music and her desire to use her gifts to serve others.
Cathy loved everything pink and anything sparkly, she even called herself a “Diva”! Cathy was always dressed perfectly and had all the accessories to go with her outfits. She had amazing style and knew what looked good on her. No matter how bad she felt, she always looked great!
She loved chocolate and pretty much anything that tasted sweet. Her granddaughter’s, favorite thing was to fill a plate full of sweets and put it in front of their Nan, to hear her say “Oh my Word, I can’t eat all of this.”… And then she would proceed to eat all of it.
Her granddaughters, Taylor and Sydney, were her pride and joy, and she was always ready to brag about them at a moment’s notice, whether you asked or not. In Cathy Brown’s book, no one had prettier, smarter, or classier granddaughters. Not even close.
Cathy taught her daughters that “the world” can knock you to your knees, and while you’re on your knees you should pray, stand back up, dust yourself off, straighten that crown, and keep moving forward. Those tough times are the times that you see your true friends and when your family pulls together.
It wasn’t until I became a mom, that I heard my mom’s words coming out of my own mouth. The one that stands out most is her use of the phrase, “I know.” It meant simply that she knew, because she went through it, and she could totally relate! Those two simple words were more comforting than anything else she could have said.
Loss after loss, Cathy stood strong and brave, grounded in her belief that even in a broken world, God never walks away. She trusted the truth of Scripture, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Her hope was never in an easy life, but in Christ, and in the promise that if you know Christ as your Savior, you will never walk alone.
Cathy built her life on Jesus, knowing that faith did not spare her from hardship, but prepared her to face it. When the storms came, and they did, she leaned on the One who created it all. Through loss, heartbreak, and seasons that required rebuilding, Cathy held fast to her faith, trusting that even when everything seemed undone, God was still at work, writing each page of her life and quietly guiding her forward..
Cathy would want you to know, that even if you are so blessed that you never have a bad day, you know that one day, this life will come to an end, and on that day, you will stand before God. Jesus Christ is the only thing that can prepare you for that day. Only by Christ’s death on the cross, sacrificed for our sins, and His Resurrection, are we able to get into Heaven.
Her belief in God and by the example of how Cathy lived her life, her family hopes and prays that you come to know the God that Cathy knew.
Cathy Jane Eccles Glenn Brown, known by most as Cathy, entered Heaven’s gates on June 19, 2026.
I believe there was a line of people in Heaven waiting to see her. She looked forward to the day when she would be reunited with those she loved who had gone before her, and she held tightly to the hope of heaven.
During Jeff’s last days Cathy, once again strong and brave, forever the teacher, looked at her daughters and said, “There are worse things than death.”
Death feels tragic and huge to those of us left on this side of Heaven because Cathy is leaving such a giant hole in this family and this community. Death is hard for those of us left on this side, but while we will miss her, we know she ran to her Savior’s arms!
Some heroines do not wear capes or seek applause. They simply live their lives with faith, grit, and love, turning every hardship into a testimony of grace.
Cathy’s story was never about avoiding suffering, but about how she walked through it. Her chapters on earth have now come to a close, but her story is far from finished. It lives on in the daughters she raised, the granddaughters she adored, the music she sang, the faith she modeled, and the countless lives she touched without ever realizing it. Her legacy is written not in ink, but in hearts.
Cathy Brown was, and always will be, a heroine, not because her life was easy, but because she faced it with courage, faith, humor, and an unshakable trust in Christ.
Her life was a beautiful story, and as we turn the page without her here, we do so knowing that her story continues in Heaven, where faith is now sight, and where her Savior has already said, “Well done.”
This video shows more of Cathy’s life. We presented this at her “HOMEGOING CELEBRATION”.
Cowles Farm 