Mrs. Diane Brown
The Chancellor’s Office has recently learned that Mrs. Diane Brown, 90, founder of the Marian Servants of Divine Providence®, passed away in the Lord on Saturday, August 2, 2025, following a gradual decline in health. Diane and her late husband of 71 years, Herbert (Herb), were long-time residents of Clearwater.
Mrs. Brown was born and raised in Louisiana. When she and her husband tragically lost their oldest son, Graham, in 1971, Mrs. Brown experienced a dramatic conversion. In 1992, she founded the Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spiritual Direction, and the Retreat Ministry of the Marian Servants®. The School of Spiritual Direction is associated with Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, and the Institute for Priestly Formation.
Mrs. Brown has been honored to receive notable awards including the St. Jude the Apostle Award of the Diocese of Saint Petersburg, an honorary Doctor of Christian Letters degree from Franciscan University and a Catholic Education Foundation award. In 2013, she and her husband Herb also received the Pontifical Award “Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice,“ the highest award conferred by the Holy See for distinguished service to the Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Herb, in 2024, just months after his 100th birthday. Mrs. Brown is survived by her daughter, Deborah (Brown) and husband Lee Arnold; son, Jared, and wife Mary Ellen (Auger) Brown; son, Robert Gregory Brown, and wife Karina (Mora); and daughter, Donna McMullen (Brown), along with nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, August 21, 2025, 11:00 a.m., at Our Lady of Divine Providence House of Prayer, 711 S. Bayview Avenue, Clearwater. Due to space limitations, the funeral will be limited to family members, clergy, and members of the Marian Servants®.
Additional biographical information on Mrs. Brown may be found at this link. A December 2023 Gulf Coast Catholic article, entitled, “Trailblazer: Diane Brown Founded a Movement of Prayer,” can be accessed here.
Expressions of sympathy may be addressed to the Marian Servants of Divine Providence® at the above-mentioned address.
+++++
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace!