Shirley Brown

Davidson Co.
BROWN, Shirley Dianne, age 53, died Sunday, March 5, in Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, TN, after a long and bravely-fought bout with lung cancer. Preceded in death by her father, Dr. Wm. H. Brown, Idalou, Texas, she is survived by her mother, Evelyn Venard Brown of Denton, Texas; a brother, Charles "Buddy" Brown, of Lubbock, Texas; a sister, Anne Brown, of Nashville; an uncle, Richard Carol Venard of Costa Mesa, California; two nieces-Cecile Rick Lucero and Lisa Jim Bush--and five great nieces and nephews, all of Dallas, Texas.
Though a resident of Nashville since 1987, she continued to refer to herself as "ex-Tex," never wanting to abandon her Texas roots. She worked herself up through the ranks in hospital administration, beginning in a Lubbock, Texas-based HCA hospital, soon after transferring to help set up another HCA hospital in San Antonio. In 1987, she was brought to Nashville by Health Trust to assist in setting up their human resources systems, as that new health care company began its start-up. She remained with Health Trust throughout the duration of that company. In 1997, she joined another start-up business, The Arts Company, in downtown Nashville, where she remained as Director for Business Services until her death.
She wished to acknowledge publicly those who directly assisted her in life and in her death: Bonnie Wiser Buckner, Wanda Brown, Edna Moore, Earlene Houx, Judy Klemke, Brother Mel Meyer and the Marianist brothers, Jeff Hand, Anna Jaap, Herb Williams, Dorothy Black, Bucky Farnor, Dr. Jud Rogers, Dr Anne Blake, Dr. Denise Yardley, and the entire staffs of the Sara Cannon Cancer Center and Centennial Medical Center, especially the nurses and staff on the 7th floor at Centennial.
In lieu of flowers, she asked specifically that all attention and consideration upon her death be directed toward contributions to the Sara Cannon Cancer Center at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville to honor the professional staff on her behalf.
A gathering of friends to honor Dianne is scheduled for Friday, March 17, 4-6 pm at The Arts Company, 215 Fifth Ave., North, Nashville 615-254-2040. At a later time, her ashes will be placed in the Harpeth Hills Cemetery in Nashville.
HARPETH HILLS FUNERAL HOME, 9090 HWY 100, 646-9292 www.harpethhills.com.