If fall is a time for giving thanks and for serving others, the Brown family is doing just that. My visit with Ashley Brown left me uplifted, encouraged and just plain happy! Ashley’s joyful spirit, contagious gratitude and enthusiasm are a rare combination. Let me introduce you to her and the Browns.

Ashley and husband Brian bleed purple. They may be TCU’s biggest fans, ever! And now their two daughters, Kylie (25) and Keira (19) are wearing purple as well.  Kylie has recently earned her degree from TCU and Keira is currently attending TCU - I think they would say their family is complete! Despite growing up in Houston, Ashley considers Fort Worth her hometown because both of her parents were Frogs, making TCU a constant in her life.

After meeting and falling in love with Brian, a letterman in soccer, the two married and moved to Miami for a bit before it was time to return to Texas. They looked to North Texas to plant their roots and considered Brian’s grandparent’s neighborhood of Oak Cliff as well as the Lakewood area. Settling on east Dallas in 1996, choosing it for the excellent public schools, the pair have raised their daughters through Mockingbird Elementary, JL Long Middle and Woodrow Wilson High School. 

The girls grew up dancing at Studio B in Lakewood, tried out gymnastics at Ridgewood Rec Center and tennis at SMU in addition to regular art camps and school athletics. Today Kylie lives back in East Dallas and is a Senior Sales Developer for VizSense: Micro-Influencer Marketing Solutions. Keira is a sophomore at TCU studying Sociology and Environmental Science. And they have both followed in the footsteps of their mother and grandmother as Kappas at TCU!

While raising these beautiful ladies, Ashley made service paramount in their lives. Starting with Girl Scouts it has been important to the family that they live and practice service and gratefulness. So it’s no coincidence that Ashley’s volunteer job became a part-time job, became a full-time job and eventually led her to her current position as Chief Advancement Officer at Juliette Fowler Community. Today she oversees marketing, sales and community outreach.

The Juliette Fowler Senior Living Community serves and is served by our local East Dallas residents. Fowler is home to over 500 older adults who thrive and belong in several independent living neighborhoods, as well as assisted living and dementia care. Additionally, they provide affordable housing, youth and benevolent housing, programs for homeless women and a spiritual life program. Their mission is to help in the areas that need help and Ashley Brown is at the center of it all. 

She is quick to say that not only is she so thankful that she gets to do this job, but that the Fowler community is so grateful to have the residents who built East Dallas living there. The teachers, ministers, civil servants, military and the other pillars of our history make everyone at Fowler so proud and happy. Ashley’s message to us is one of gratitude – grateful thanks for the time and service from the numerous local groups that give back to Fowler (Lakewood Service League, Young Men’s Service League, and National Charity League are just a few.)

Ironically after Ashley began work at Juliette Fowler she discovered through Ancestry.com that she had a connection to Juliette Fowler herself. And to make it even sweeter, the Disciples of Christ (Ashley’s father is a Disciple) and TCU share a mission with the Juliette Fowler community. The job was simply meant for Ashley and she couldn’t be happier!

Ashely tells me the family loves to eat out, cook and eat in, and take long walks on Swiss Avenue. In addition to her real job which is service-oriented, Ashley is active in her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma and on the Women’s Council of the Dallas Arboretum. She is a big believer in supporting local and frequents every local establishment she can walk to from her home. And, I am pretty sure that we could find her wearing purple on any given Saturday this fall. 

The Brown family embodies service, gratitude and gratefulness. What better custodians of our elders and teachers of our youth. Thank you Brown’s for spreading your message and for sharing of yourselves. Happy Thanks and giving.