YARMOUTH — When foster grandparent Molly “Nana” Brown died last spring, her family requested memorial donations be sent to Yarmouth Elementary School for a reading corner in her name.

Last Friday, Brown’s family, school students, faculty and friends gathered to honor her service to the school.

Marypat Bowen, a third-grade teacher, said 93-year-old Brown was an incredible woman.

“She came everyday to read to the students,” she said. “They loved her and she loved them.”

Brown’s daughter, Aynne Ames of Belfast, granddaughter Sandra Richardson of Falmouth, and daughter-in-law Lynde Randall of Yarmouth also attended the dedication.

“Visiting with and reading to the children kept her going,” Richardson said. “She truly loved them.”

Brown would drive herself to the school until she couldn’t drive anymore, she said. Then, the school bus would pick her up from her home at Bartlett Circle and drop her off at the end of the day.

Principal Betsy Lane said she knew Brown for years.

“This reading corner has been a favorite spot for Molly and the kids,” she said. “They would sit here together and share stories. Molly would listen to them, help them with their spelling or reading. She had a feisty, tremendous personality.”

Second-grade teacher Carli Page-Redmann said the reading corner seats were reupholstered, and a plaque honoring Brown’s 19 years of service to the school was hung on the wall with the donations sent to the school.

During the dedication, fourth-grade students shared their memories of Brown. They remembered her reading to them and helping them spell. One student said Brown was an “amazing person,” and another called her a “loving, kind person who would always lend a helping hand.”

Page-Redmann said Yarmouth students who are now sophomores in college were the first to know and love Brown.

“She was an incredible person who really did help the children,” she said. “Thank you to all the people who made Molly’s reading corner a reality.”

Amy Anderson can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 110 or aanderson@theforecaster.net

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A dedication to and celebration of Molly “Nana” Brown’s 19 years of service took place last week at Yarmouth Elementary School. Brown’s daughter, Aynne Ames, left, and her granddaughter Sandra Richardson, share pictures with a second-grade student after the dedication ceremony. A reading corner was dedicated in her honor, so children and teachers can remember Brown and her contributions to the students.

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