Donna Rowe Brown

Donna Rowe Brown of the Saunook Community in North Carolina passed away in the early morning of March 10, 2026, as the sun rose over the mountains surrounding her home. Born on January 5, 1963, in Manchester, Tennessee, to Howell and Peggy Rowe, she was raised in Estill Springs and attended the United Methodist Church. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and served as a dedicated Haywood County Health Inspector for 32 years, earning respect for her integrity, professionalism, and genuine care for her community. Above all, Donna was remembered for her deep kindness, generous heart, adventurous spirit, and abiding love for family and friends.

She shared a remarkable 40-year marriage with her husband, Derric. Together they built a life filled with love, laughter, and exploration, traveling across the globe from whitewater rafting on rivers in Africa, Patagonia, and the Grand Canyon to adventures in Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Iceland, Peru, and Europe. They cherished annual ski trips to Colorado and Utah, where Donna, an excellent skier, stayed by Derric’s side even on the most challenging double black diamond runs. She found endless joy in the outdoors, hiking the mountains of Western North Carolina and beyond, sharing her knowledge of nature with others. Donna also had a remarkable gift for growing flowers, especially dahlias, and took delight in sharing them for weddings, celebrations, or simply to brighten someone’s day.

Donna loved cooking, baking, and canning, skills she learned alongside her mother in the kitchen. Her own kitchen was a place of warmth and creativity, filled with jars of pickles and green beans, homemade bread, her famous fudge pie, and meals prepared with care. She took pride in preparing family meals and baking bread for others. Deeply devoted to her family, she was the kind of aunt who attended birthdays, games, graduations, and every milestone, sharing her curiosity about the natural world with the younger generation through hikes, picking fresh fruits and herbs, and teaching them to appreciate nature.

Donna was preceded in death by her parents, Howell and Peggy Rowe, and her nephew, Chris Rowe. She is survived by her loving husband of forty years, Derric Brown; her mother-in-law, Jeana Brown; her brothers, Alan Rowe (Beverly) and Doug Rowe (Kathy); her sister-in-law, Cyrena Goodwin (Larry); her brothers-in-law, Kevan Brown (Debbie) and Shawn Brown (Caroline); and her nieces and nephews, Josh Rowe, Megan Brown, Conor Brown, Matthew Rowe, Zachary Rowe, Cydney Goodwin-Hamel, Elizabeth Sanders, and Nolan Goodwin, along with twelve great-nieces and nephews. She will be remembered as a gentle, generous, and passionate woman who found delight in nature, adventure, and bringing comfort, joy, and beauty to the lives of those she loved.