Charolette, pronounced CHAR-ol-ette, Mae Hineman Brown passed peacefully from this life on April 7, 2025. She was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, in 1926 to John and Stella Belle Hineman. The third of four daughters, Charolette spent her early years on her parents’ farm near New Sheffield, PA.

She loved farm life and often spoke fondly of those days. Charolette and her sisters helped tend the garden and preserve its harvest, each girl caring for her own cow. When her father’s health began to decline, the family sold the farm and moved into town. Charolette attended Hopewell High School, where she played the trumpet and developed the strong sense of community that stayed with her throughout her life.

In 1948, Charolette married Charles Brown. Together they raised two daughters, Nancy and Susan. The family moved several times before settling in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Charolette became a devoted member of St. Giles Presbyterian Church in 1966. She was active in many aspects of church life and especially loved caring for children in the nursery, where she was affectionately known as “Ms. Charolette.”

As a grandmother, she was the heart of countless treasured memories for her grandchildren — Ben, Brittany, Rachel, and Sarah — at her home in Lake Anne. Her kitchen was always filled with the smell of home-cooked meals, laughter around the card table playing Uno, and coloring books spread out on the counter. She was known for her signature saying that she could “squeeze the grumps out,” always managing to make a day brighter than it began.

Charolette’s kindness, humor, and unwavering faith touched everyone who knew her. Her legacy of love, gentleness, and care lives on in her children, grandchildren, and all those whose lives she brightened.

Those wishing to honor Charolette’s memory are encouraged to extend kindness and laughter to those they meet — and to add a dash of adventure to life. Take the road less traveled, ask questions, and greet opportunities with curiosity and childlike wonder, just as she did.

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