Anne Margrethe Bonne (Jorgensen) Brown

ARUNDEL – Anne Margrethe Bonne Jorgensen Brown, born in Taastrup Denmark on April 22, 1931, died on March 2, 2025, here in Southern Maine. “Margrethe’s” parents, Karen Estrid Jensen and Niels Kristian Jorgensen, saw she and her brother Bent, safely through the years preceding, during, and following the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Her life in Denmark spanned several communities where her father managed portions of the rail system. Her Danish education culminated in her graduation from University in Denmark with a degree in Theology.

As she graduated, she took an opportunity to participate in a study fellowship at the School of Divinity in Edinburgh, Scotland. While there, she met William “Bill” Brown who became her husband after a very brief courtship, as well as the father of their children together. Margrethe, with Bill at her side, built a life that balanced academic pursuits, a career in supporting ecumenical dialog across churches and geographies, and participating fully in the family life of those closest to her.

She completed a master’s degree in Sacred Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York. She held professional positions that involved her in significant efforts in ecumenism across faiths, as well as supporting interfaith organizations and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Her work was built around her commitment to organizations that ranged across the World Christian Student Federation, the World Council of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Consultation on Church Union, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). On her journey she became the second Presbyterian clergy woman to receive ordination in the state of Ohio. Margrethe also was a teacher, teaching languages in Denver, Colo. and theology in Columbus, Ohio at Methodist Theological School and Capital University. In her retirement her faith manifested in in her support for the Rural Community Action Ministry and her pursuit of becoming a Master Gardener. She reveled in the places and moments where similarities and differences grown from theological thought were considered and acted upon. She raised two children to adulthood and supported them through the creation of their own families, still with Bill at her side.

Margrethe was predeceased by her loving husband, William Brown, who passed away 78 hours prior to Margrethe; her parents; her brother; and her niece, Benedikte.

Her survivors include her two children, Neil Brown and Anne Christine “Stine” Brown; and three grandchildren, Peter Moses Brown and his wife Cailyn Driscoll, Sophia Brandl Keller and her husband Joshua Keller, and Britta Christiana Brown.

Margrethe’s life offered many trailblazing moments because of her passion for her field and the way the institutions she participated in responded to her being a woman in predominantly male settings. She and her husband built and tended the gardens of their land and their family together. Her death leaves those around her with many reflections and hopes.

A celebration of her life and the life of her husband William Brown will be held at South Congregational Church in Kennebunkport on March 22, at 2 p.m., a gathering to follow at the Community House next to the church.

To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit Margrethe’s Book of Memories Page at http://www.bibberfuneral.com.

Arrangements are in the care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, ME 04043.

Should friends desire, memorial contributions

may be made to:

Maine Council of Churches

202 Woodford St.

Portland, ME 04103;

South Congregational Church

P.O. Box 414

Kennebunkport, ME 04046;

Hospice of Southern Maine

390 U.S.-1

Scarborough, ME 04074