Amada Escosteguy Brown was born January 27, 1925, in Santana do Livramento, Brazil to Pedro and Alexandrina Escosteguy. Born the same year the world was watching Charlie Chaplin in The Gold Rush, reading The Great Gatsby, and seeing the earliest stirrings of the invention of television, her life would span a century of profound change.
More than 30 years after her birth, Amada met her husband, Hamman, at a sidewalk café along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. After three return visits from the young Pan American World Airways sales rep, she said “yes,” and the two were married at a church near where they met. They moved to Atlanta, where their son Paul was born two years later.
A passionate educator who achieved her teaching certificate by the age of 17 during a need for teachers in her home state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil, Amada would later serve as a teacher of teachers as part of the Teachers Active Learning Center in both San Francisco and Oakland, California. In 1975, she and Ham co-founded Brown’s World Travel Center in Brownwood, Texas, his family’s ancestral home, which they ran together for more than two decades.
Amada was active at St. Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Brownwood, involved in the Altar Society, teaching Catechism, and singing in the choir. She also loved the arts, having been involved in the Brownwood Art Association for numerous years. She was a talented pianist and artist who enjoyed sketching and painting in a variety of mediums.
Following Ham’s passing in 2009, Amada became a U.S. citizen while retaining her Brazilian citizenship—an identity she was deeply proud of. Her life was defined by enduring curiosity, devotion to family, and generosity that touched countless lives.
Amada is remembered as a loving mother, an inspiring teacher, and a woman of remarkable grace and resilience. Her legacy will live on in the many people she inspired and uplifted over her 100 years.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Dodie Brown of Duluth, Minnesota, and three grandchildren: Wade Hampton of Brownwood, Texas; Emmett Hampton of Austin, Texas; and Joshua Brown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Funeral Mass for Amada will be held at 10:00 AM, Thursday, June 19, 2025, at St. Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Greenleaf Cemetery under the direction of Heartland Funeral Home. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday evening from 5:00 until 7:00, with the Holy Rosary beginning at 6:00.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Amada’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Condolences, memories, and tributes can be offered to the Brown family online at heartlandfuneralhome.com
