Emeline Hannah Dustin Brown died at her home, Oakland Farm, near Waterford, on December 16, 2009. Born on June 24, 1914, in Philadelphia to George Kimball and Lily Gross Brown, she was preceded in death by brother Charles Gross (Thomas) Brown, and sisters Josephine Brown, Mary Louise Wildes Brown, Katherine Franklin Brown, and Violet Dudley Brown. Oakland was the home of the Browns and their ancestors from 1757, when forebear Joseph McGeach/McGeath settled there. In 1976, the state of Virginia awarded the Brown family a bicentennial plaque honoring their more than two centuries of ownership.

The Brown family formerly maintained homes in Philadelphia and Royersford, Pennsylvania and had extensive land and railroad interests in Florida. Hannah often related the family's arrival for the summer months from Philadelphia when she was a child at Point of Rocks, Maryland. The train would make a special stop and let them off: Edgar Beans of Waterford met them with his horses and carriage. Their dog, "Uncle Dash," would race ahead and greet them, panting, on the front steps when they arrived. In 1976, Hannah and her sisters closed their house in Philadelphia and retired to their Waterford farm. The Brown siblings were remarkable for longevity. All but an infant sister attained more than 90 years.

A longtime member of St. Francis DeSales Catholic Church in Purcellville, Miss Brown taught CCD and was a member of the Women's Council. She and her sisters were known for their love of animals: many a stray dog and cat found its way to their door and none was turned away. No immediate family survives.

Memorial donations may be made to Blue Ridge Hospice, 333 West Cork Street, # 405, Winchester, VA 22601; St Frances DeSales Church, 37700 St., Francis Court, Purcellville, VA 20132; Humane Society of Loudoun County, P.O. Box 601, Leesburg, VA 20178.