It is with great sadness that the family of Sandra Horton Brown announces her sudden passing

on Thursday, February 14, 2019 at the age of 71 years old. The visitation will be held on Sunday

February 17, 2019 from 6pm to 8pm at the Downs Funeral Home. Funeral service and burial will

be on February 18 at 11am at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in her hometown of Panola,

Texas.

Born in 1947 in Bakersfield, California, Sandra moved to Texas at a young age and attended

school in Pasadena, TX, where she was a star athlete on the ladies' basketball team. She would

maintain that competitive and lively spirit in all her endeavors. With her husband JT, she

celebrated the birth of her two children, Roy and Kelly. Her caring and selfless nature led her to

join the Mexia State School as a recreational therapist. Sandra later found great satisfaction

working at a local gardening center in Carthage. She was actively involved in Panola's

community, dedicating time to her church family and operating a local store with her husband,

Linn, for many years.

She loved the outdoors: she spent many hours fishing, playing golf, and tending her garden.

Sandra was deeply curious about the world, and she was a gifted artist, investing her creative

energy into watercolor paintings, stained glass, and countless other projects. She was known to

everyone for her brightness and her joy, which forever changed the things that she touched

and the people that she loved. She was a woman of deep faith, a loving mother, and a devoted

wife.

She is survived by her husband, Ronnie Brown. Sandra and Ronnie were married in June 2015

and cherished every day they had together. Together with their beloved dog Toby, they

enjoyed golfing, visiting family, and spending afternoons together on the back porch.

She is also survived by her children—Roy, Kelly, Billie, Marla, Patty, Kenny, and Barbara–her

many grandchildren (who knew her best as "Granny"), her sister Linda and Linda's husband

Randy, her extended family and her dear friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Edna Goodrich and Jesse Patterson, her brothers,

Richard and Ronny Patterson, her son, Michael Horton, and her husband, Linn Horton.

May her memory be forever blessed.