Brown, Nicolette Friederich passed away March 20, 2009 - Born on April 8, 1939, in Durham, Nicolette Friederich Brown grew up in Chapel Hill, which counted as home for most of her life. Daughter of Werner P. and Molly Shaerer Friederich, Nickey fondly remembered her Father-Professor's summer breaks with family in Vermont and in Switzerland, the sabbatical terms in Spain and Italy, a semester on her own in Geneva, and especially the year en famille in Melbourne. These times away further enriched her schooling through eighth grade back home, then through senior high--well celebrated at a 50th reunion in 2007-- at Northfield Mt. Hermon in Massachusetts. After a freshman year at Wellesley and the death of her Mother, Nickey returned to Chapel Hill out of filial care as well as for an undergrad major in Political Science. Advancing toward an M.A. at U.N.C. in History, she came to focus on the French Revolution in Prof. George Taylor's seminar. Taylor in turn commended her to Prof. Harold Parker, his counterpart at Duke and her future dissertation director. Nickey's Fulbright year for thesis research in Paris was punctuated by her flight home and marriage to Edwin L. Brown, devoted husband and friend for over 43 years. Their wedding at winter solstice (1965) was prepared by Ed ;s U.N.C. Classics colleague, Nickey's stepmother, Iris Wilcock Friederich. The couple's spring term in Paris; hers on the Fulbright, his on sabbatical there; led on to Greece for the summer, to burnish the title of each as Francophile and Philhellene. Once home for the 1966-67 academic year in Chapel Hill, Nickey took up the remaining requirements for a Duke Ph.D., awarded on the eve of her first-born's birth. Already she had assumed the role of home-maker to a spouse adopting the model of her parents; these had regularly collaborated, the one as author, the other as editor of his scholarship. Nickey had also the example and in Ed's case, effectively, the mentorship) of the Professors Immerwahr. Sally set a pattern by keeping abreast of new work in her field even while being at home during their daughter's early years and only then re-entering academe. Nickey herself, besides taking the lead in rearing Michael and enduring the loss of infant Molly, adopted a Vietnamese refugee, Benjamin. In her sons' eyes she won laurels as a multi-sport-mom, and before her Parkinson's (PD) advanced, she taught her older son ping-pong well enough for him to use it to good effect in international relations in Jerusalem and Gaza. For her younger son she enhanced his ear for music. In other areas, too, she made her mark, serving as clerk of Chapel Hill Friends Meeting and protesting publicly against the Vietnam War, the nuclear arms race, and the invasion of Iraq. Her contributions to the community as a teacher's aide did not go unnoticed. Most salient, though, was the support Nickey lent to her husband's career by cheerfully leaving house and home, often for Spartan quarters abroad. Happily the great hospitality extended at Cambridge University, the University at Rethymno, and the Maison de la Orient in Lyon offset the comforts of The Hellenic Center in Washington. The daily treks and climbs on Crete and in France, which proved in retrospect so beneficial for her Parkinson's, all paled beside a journey to Jordan at King Hussein's invitation to Nickey and family. His Majesty timed their visit and tailored their itinerary as a Parkinsonian's dream. Two decades of PD, fended off however bravely and well, finally ruled out Nicke's staying in town near the wicked step-mother; as her belle-mere was apt to quip. Warmly requited affection for her sisters-in-law in Asheville and their families led her and her husband to retire westward to Burlington in May 2006, where she gamely entered into the life of a senior community, became an owner of a new local market, and finished a memoir of her early life. Dying of pneumonia on March 20, 2009, she is survived by her husband, Edwin Louis Brown; sons, Benjamin Van Luong of Boone and Michael Frederic, his wife, Ameena, their sons, Amrit Batada and Rayhan Werner of Takoma Park, MD; sister-in-law, Eleanor Hall (Jim); daughter, Lelia and John Lattimore of Five Points, and their threesome; sister-in-law, Mary Ida and Pete Sprague, their children, Peter Hale, Mary Stewart Duffy, Eleanor Grady, David Badger, Sally Kate Winter, and 14 grandchildren; brother-in-law, Hugh Crawford (Nell) of Patterson, LA, their Jenny, Hugh, Eva Clare, Thomas, and eight grandchildren; cousins, Catherine and Peter (Alice) Reusser of Bern and Meilen, Switzerland, and Kathy (Rich) Louv of San Diego, CA. A celebration of Nicolette’s life will take place at Chapel Hill Friends Meeting on May 9, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. Online condolences may be left at www.cremnc.com Memorial contributions may be made to Parkinson ;s Disease Drug Discovery Fund, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033 or to Gaza Mental Health Foundation, P.O.B 495, Boston MA 02112