Sarah Lillie Brown-Bray

Mrs. Sarah Lillie Hicks Brown Bray, 72, a resident of the Village Green, formerly of Thomasville, died Sunday, at her residence. Born Feb. 15, 1923 in Richmond County, a daughter of James Franklin Hicks and Nettie Swink Hicks, she had been a resident of Davidson County from 1953 to 1991 and had resided in Greensboro since 1991. She was a member of Southside Baptist Church of Greensboro and the Loraine Miller Sunday School Class. She was a member of the Eastern Star, V.F.W. Auxiliary and the American Legion Auxiliary. Mrs. Bray was a former member of the local American Business Women's Assn. and was a former volunteer with the Contact Telephone Ministry. She was a former employee with Davidson County Community College Adult Education Department. In 1963, she started the first Sheltered Workshop in North Carolina in Davidson County and then opened Vocational Workshop in Salisbury in 1967. On June 10, 1939, she was married to Albert Parham Brown who died in 1984. On November 18, 1953 she was married to Albert Maurice BRay who died June 5, 1985. Survivors include sons, James Martin Brown of Hamlet, Albert Clyde Brown of Atlantic Beach, Alben Michael Bray of Mayodan and Phillip Simmons Bray of Sanford; sisters, Mrs. Jesse (Catherine) Brown of Monroe and Mrs. Bill (Margaret) Williams of Rockingham; brother, James Franklin Hicks Jr. of Rockingham; and eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Funeral will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at J.C. Green & Sons Chapel with the Rev. Steven Walsh and the Rev. George Williamson officiating. Burial will follow in Holly Hill Memorial Park cemetery. The family will receive friends 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. The family requests any memorials be directed to Davidson County Sheltered Workshop, U.S. Highway 64 East, Lexington, N.C. 27292; or to Southside Baptist Church, 1001 Greenhaven Dr., Greensboro, N.C. 27406.