Ila Mae Brown, age 80, passed away October 12, 2019. She was born March 29, 1939 in Almo, Kentucky and was one of nine children. Ila graduated from Murray State University in 1964 with a BA in education and was a teacher at North Calloway Elementary for 27 years. After she retired in 1999, she enjoyed volunteering at Murray–Calloway County Hospital. She was a longtime, loyal member of Beta Sigma Phi sorority, an active member of Calloway County Retired Teachers Association, and a longtime member of Scotts Grove Baptist Church. She was an avid reader and movie buff and loved to travel.
Ila was preceded in death by her husband, Tommy Brown; her parents, Cloyce and Willie Hopkins; her brothers, Hal Vernon, Charles, and Palmer Hopkins; and her sisters, Verne Lucille, Mildred Brandon, and Faye Shelton.
She is survived by her two daughters and their husbands, Tracey and Darren Hooper and Holly and Jeff Cross; brother and sister-in-law, John and Cathy Hopkins; sister and brother-in-law, Joe Ann and Mike McDougal; grandchildren, Josh Hendrix; Nicholas Hendrix and his wife, Taylor; Chloe Cross; and Thomas Cross; great grandchild, Bennett Hendrix; and her many nieces and nephews.
Please join us in celebrating her life Wednesday, October 16, at J. H. Churchill Funeral Home (201 S. Third Street, Murray). Visitation will begin at 11 a.m. until the funeral hour at 1 p.m. John Dale will officiate, and burial will follow in the Murray City Cemetery.
Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House, 803 Poplar street, Murray, Kentucky 42071 (murrayhospital.org) and the Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 96011 Washington, D.C. 20090-6011 (alz.org).
Online condolences can be made at www.thejhchurchillfuneralhome.com