Carol Elaine Browne, 86, a resident of Laguna Beach for 59 years, passed away comfortably and peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday, May 31, 2017, of pneumonia caused by complications of radiation therapy to treat her esophageal cancer.
Carol was born in Colfax, N.D., on April 17, 1931, to Oscar and Inga Forness and raised on the Forness farm. She attended Saint Luke’s School of Nursing in Fargo, N.D., where she earned her nursing degree. Her clinical training was done in Chicago, where she met her soulmate, Norm Browne. They married in 1954 and moved to South Laguna in 1958.
Browne was active with the Laguna Beach Woman’s Club and spent many hours volunteering at the Neighborhood Congregational Church. She was a tremendous and caring homemaker who chose to stay at home with her children while they were in school and eventually went back to work as a registered nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange. She was an “expert” cook and was known for her annual New Year’s Day parties. She loved to dance, enjoyed playing tennis, gardening, walking, cooking, and traveling with her best friend, Norm.
Browne is survived by her children Jaimie Browne, Doug Browne, David Browne and Stevie (Joe) Fritz, and her grandchildren Rianna Bramlette, Brendan Browne, Brooke Browne and Alyx Fritz.
A memorial service will be held at the Neighborhood Congregational Church, 340 Saint Anns Dr., Laguna Beach, on Saturday June 24, 2017 at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, her family requests donations are made in her honor to the American Cancer Society.
