Ann Murray Browning

Gentle and courageous Ann left us on October 12 after a long standoff with ovarian cancer.
We may never know another like her.

She was a gourmet cook. She was a sailing enthusiast. She was an environmentalist for over 30
years: Member of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Marin Conservation League, Environmental
Forum. Docent for the Audubon Canyon Ranch. One of the originators of the Marin Solar Village
experiment. Dedicated to and employed by the Sierra Club in San Francisco. Contributed to numerous
local and regional marine and ecological causes.

But most of all, she was an essential member of her community: Rental Coordinator for the
Muir Beach Community Center, Business Manager for the local newsletter, overseer of desserts
for the Volunteer Firemen’s Barbecue.

She would have wanted any contributions made in her name to go to those three institutions.
But it wasn’t the things she did, it was how she did everything in her life–
with tolerance, serenity and grace. She took nothing for granted and lived life for what it was.
She greeted each morning with the wonder of a child, and became a true friend
to almost everyone she met.

During her final weeks she was in the constant company of family, friends and particularly
her wonderful neighbors. The well-wishes, the gatherings, the music, the meals,
the hands and hope came from everywhere.

With her positive energy, she formed a community of her own in those last days–
but all she could talk about was how lucky she felt.

From cards, letters, flowers and gifts, a line from one card lingers:
“No one who loved the earth so, ever truly leaves it.”
We miss her already.