Family and friends said goodbye to Fredericka Simmons Brown on Saturday at a funeral service that ended with a carriage ride through the streets of Coconut Grove.
Those who knew and loved Fredericka Simmons Brown knew her for her dedication to the students she taught, to the church she attended, and to the community she called home for nearly a century – Coconut Grove.
On Saturday, Brown took her last ride through the neighborhood she loved, from the church where she worshipped to the street where she was born, her casket placed inside a glass carriage and drawn by a pair of white horses in a final tribute to her life and legacy.
“She was born and raised on Charles Avenue, so that was her last ride on that horse and carriage, to just give her that pilgrimage, (in memory) of the legacy that she had given Coconut Grove,” Mikeya Brown, her granddaughter, told the Spotlight.
Brown, 94, died on June 30 after a lifetime of service as a school teacher, a community volunteer, and a storyteller who helped keep the Grove’s rich history alive.
Fredericka Odessa Simmons Brown and her twin brother Frederick were born June 22, 1931 in Coconut Grove as the youngest children of Charles and Margaret Simmons.
She attended the George Washington Carver School and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1951.
Brown was proud of her history, and she often shared memories from her early life in Coconut Grove. “It’s just like planting a tree,” she said when interviewed for the Florida International University podcast “Coconut Grove Stories: Race, Risk, Resilience.”
“When you plant the tree, you see it grow up and it remains there until the end. That’s how I feel about Coconut Grove.”
Brown was featured as well in a podcast entitled “The Rich and Forgotten History of Coconut Grove” alongside Thelma Gibson, Leona Cooper Baker and Carol Davis Henley. Storytelling was one of the many ways Brown shared her history.
“She was what we call a ‘Grove Historian,’” said Deb Dolson, a friend.
“She saw a lot growing up in West Grove, but she loved to share those stories. Some of them were funny and some of them were very troubling now, many years later. They were always fascinating to me,” Dolson added.
Although Brown grew up in a time when segregation limited opportunities for Black residents like herself, she remained committed to her belief in the power of education.
She studied elementary education at Bethune-Cookman College, earning her bachelor’s degree before returning to Miami to become an educator herself.
In the 33 years she served the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system, Brown taught at A.L. Lewis Elementary School in Homestead – which was established for African American students – and later at Olinda Elementary School. She retired in 1992.
Even after retiring, Brown remained an educator in the community. She was dedicated to remembering the “Old Grove” – what it was, and what it stood for. Her passion for education lived on in her volunteer work and community involvement as well.
“She taught a lot of people what Miami was when she was growing up,” said Mikeya Brown, her granddaughter. “She was just really fond of where she came from.”
Brown was a member of Christ Episcopal Church for more than 90 years, and served as a volunteer and leader in a number of civic and community organizations, including the Goombay Festival Committee and the Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry.
Brown’s commitment to local history included her efforts to remember Coconut Grove’s Bahamian roots, particularly through the Goombay Festival. She wasn’t just a member of the Goombay Festival Committee – she was part of its founding in the 1970s.
Like her grandmother before her, Mikeya Brown is a member of the Goombay committee. She said she plans to honor her grandmother’s legacy by “keeping it (the festival) authentic to what people remember the Goombay to be – that connection between the Bahamas and the local Miami community – which is a major part of Coconut Grove.”
Brown will also be remembered as a “trailblazer volunteer” at the Crisis Food Pantry, according to Dolson, the pantry’s director of outreach. Since its founding more than 40 years ago, Brown visited the pantry weekly to pack bags of groceries for those in need.
“I swear she has the best attendance record of anybody in the history of the pantry,” Dolson said. “She was always there, up until the week before she passed away.”
Within the organization, Brown was known as Mrs. Brown – never Fredericka – out of respect and affection. She brought her faith into her volunteer work, leading a prayer each time she visited, a ritual that Dolson said inspired volunteers and members of all faiths. To them, she was the face of the pantry.
“It was like part of her fabric. Part of the fabric of Mrs. Brown was serving the community and serving at the pantry, and it meant so much to her,” Dolson said.
Brown is survived by her children – Parnice Lee (Gregory), Darnice Brown, Eldrick Brown and Marci Brown Covington (Karlton) – along with many relatives, loved ones and friends in the community.A homegoing service was held on Saturday at Christ Episcopal Church on Hibiscus Street in the West Grove, followed by a burial at Graceland Memorial South on Southwest 117 Avenue.
