TALK OF GREENWOOD
Dr. Jerry Goodwin
Rayella Booton-Brown was an educator who taught in Colorado, New York, and internationally in Taiwan. Photo Provided
Rayella Booton-Brown (Feb. 21, 1933 – April 24, 2024) departed this earth passing her legacy onto her children and countless family and friends.
Booton-Brown is the daughter of Ray Andre Booton and Coella Delley Booton of Muskogee, Okla. After the passing of her father when she was six years old, her mother remarried to Dr. Cosby E. Ford.
She began her schooling in Dallas, Texas, where she lived with an aunt and uncle for a period of time before returning to Muskogee. She graduated from Muskogee Manual Training High School in 1951.
The future educator continued her studies at the first institution of higher learning for African Americans founded by Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute. While at Tuskegee, she married William L. Brown, an officer in the Air Force, of Tampa, Fla., in 1952.
Together, they had four children: one daughter, Tanya (Marjani Dele), and three sons, Derek, Brandi, and William.
Even though she studied piano for many years, Booton-Brown found the field of nursing to be where she wanted to make a difference. Upon completing her studies with a bachelor’s degree of science in nursing at Tuskegee, she moved east to attend Boston University, where she earned a master’s degree in nursing.
Because she loved and wanted to care for people, she naturally chose a profession that would take her around the country and the world offering her care and support to others.
After completing her studies in Boston, she began teaching nursing at Syracuse University. She later taught science at an American school in Taipei, Taiwan.
In addition to her education and familial pursuits, she was a civil rights activist. In Muskogee, she stood up for elderly patients in a nursing home. In doing so, she won a legal case that led to improved conditions for the patients. She also was an advocate for herself when she was faced with discrimination at a community college, where she served as dean of nursing and where she won her case there, too.
In 2001, she formed a nonprofit organization, Casa Agape Ministries, to serve people in her community of Tulsa, Okla.
After retiring, Booton-Brown, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, moved to Marlboro, N.Y., to live with her son, William, and his wife, Susan. She passed away living in New York.
She leaves behind four children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Her homegoing services, provided by House of Winn-Muskogee, were held at Grace Episcopal Church, 218 N. 6th St., in Muskogee, Okla., on May 18. Rev. Dr. Stephen Wiley, pastor of Praise Center Family Church, officiated. Internment was at Booker T. Washington Cemetery in Muskogee.
For more information, visit https://www.houseofwinn.com/obituary/rayella-booton-brown
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