OBITUARY: THERESE BROWNE ABRAHAM

AUGUST 6, 1931 — AUGUST 29, 2024

Therese Browne Abraham passed peacefully from this earth on August 29, 2024, at her Canadian, Texas home with her family by her side. 

A funeral mass will be held on Friday, September 6 at 2:00 pm at Canadian’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Rev. Nicholas Gerber, pastor at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Amarillo, officiating. Cremation and arrangements are under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors of Canadian. 

Following the service, the family will receive friends at The Citadelle Art Gallery, 520 E Nelson Ave, Canadian, TX, 79014. 

Therese was born August 6, 1931, to Mary Alice (Welch) Browne and Robert Connellan Browne, the ninth of their ten children. Her parents were second generation Irish Catholics from the Boston area who relocated to Mount Airy, NC after investing in the Mount Airy Granite Quarry, the largest open face quarry in the world at that time.

During the Great Depression, the quarry achieved much success through selling granite for WPA projects. The Browne’s were one of three Catholic families in Mount Airy, and those families gave back to the community by building a beautiful little Catholic church using rough cut granite from the quarry. Over the decades, that little church was the setting for all the Browne family baptisms, weddings, and funerals.

When Therese was just 14 months old, her father died of kidney failure. That left Widow Browne with ten children. Her mother knew the money wouldn’t last forever, so she got the family organized. They purchased a milk cow and planted a big garden so they could can lots of food. Each spring, they would get 200 baby chicks so they could sell eggs and “fryers” to the neighbors, plus provide food for themselves.

Each of her children had jobs and chore assignments to help support the family. The effect was all ten Browne children learned to work hard, they learned to look out for one another, and they all learned to honor their commitments. One of Therese’s observations was the first kid up in the morning got matching socks.

After graduating from Mount Airy High School in 1949, Therese attended Marywood College in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She then enrolled in nursing school at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, run by the Sisters of Mercy. The nuns taught her a lot of organizational skills and how to be a really good RN.

Therese soon secured a job as Head Nurse at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro. She said she dated almost every boy in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, but she usually had a headache before they took her back home. So, she started a Novena to St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases and lost causes. She would ask St. Jude to help her find a good husband.

In June 1963, Malouf Abraham hit town. He was between his junior and senior year of medical school in Dallas but was sent to work for six weeks at Cone Hospital. On Day One, he walked into the hospital and saw sweet Therese Browne, the prettiest girl in town. She was standing there in her starched white uniform, cap and all. He walked right up to her and said, “Well hey, do you know any cute girls?” Before she could even answer, he stepped up closer and gave her a sweet little kiss on the lips! That was Day One!

Three weeks later, they were engaged—but the couple had to do six months of pre-Cana conferences before getting married at the little granite church in Mount Airy. They were wed on December 28, 1963.

They then moved into an apartment in Dallas while Malouf finished his senior year of medical school. Next, there was a year of internship in Savannah, then two years in the Air Force Hospital in Shreveport. Finally, the couple moved to Canadian, Texas, Malouf’s hometown, where he built his medical clinic. 

Three little boys quickly showed up—boom, boom, boom. Eddie, Salem, and Jason. They were close in age and had lots of fun together.

Although more than 1,200 miles from her birthplace in the hills of North Carolina, Therese adopted Canadian with all of her strength and heart. A genuine social butterfly, she enjoyed playing Rummikub with friends and entertaining. She was the gracious hostess of many enjoyable evenings and countless warm holiday parties. Guests and family alike enjoyed Therese’s fine cooking. She loved to serve dishes from her childhood in North Carolina and introduced many to the Abraham’s family heritage by preparing traditional Lebanese fare. 

Never one to sit idly, Therese threw herself into public service to her community. The organizational skills she learned from the nuns served her well in her many leadership roles. She served as the Mayor of Canadian from 1981-1991—the first woman elected to the position—and helped guide Canadian during a period of growth and prosperity. She played the organ and taught at Canadian’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church for many years. She served as president of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission for two years, was declared Canadian’s Woman of the Year in 1984, and was honored as one of the Distinguished Women of the Panhandle. She and Malouf were also honored as Philanthropists of the Year in the Texas Panhandle.

Therese and Malouf raised their three sons in Canadian, and later enjoyed 13 grandchildren. Therese fiercely loved her grandchildren, who knew her as Geegee (Therese’s abbreviation for ‘Gorgeous Grandma.’) Her grandchildren knew they could always expect a warm hug, words of wisdom, and the best chocolate sheet cake in the world from Geegee. As the beloved matriarch of the Abraham family, she led by example and diligently instilled the values of family, faith, hard work and community service. She shared her appetite for the arts with her grandchildren, frequently traveling with them to experience music, fine art and architecture. 

Through the decades, she and Malouf have been on “the same page.” They have been evenly yoked as they worked together toward shared goals. Each year, Therese and Malouf receive ashes on the forehead with the admonitions, “Remember Man that you are Dust and unto Dust you shall return.” That being the case, they decided they would invest their money in three things that would go beyond their earthly life: One: building a world-renowned art collection; Two: historic preservation; Three: tree planting. Together, they received recognition in each of those three areas.

In 1977, Therese and Malouf purchased the former First Baptist Church, a Canadian landmark, and gave it new life as their family residence. After 30 years of serving as their home, Therese and Malouf donated their mansion, the art, and the gardens as a public art museum, and created The Citadelle Art Foundation to help share their blessings with generations to come. Therese and Malouf both say, “their cup runneth over.”

Therese will be lovingly remembered by her husband of over 60 years, Dr. Malouf Abraham; her brother: David Lewis Browne of Anderson, SC; three sons, Eddie and Dawn Abraham, Salem and Ruth Ann Abraham, and Jason and Bonnie Abraham; 13 grandchildren, Kate Abraham, Maddie and Rily Urban, Luke and Alison Abraham, Mitchell Abraham, Claire Abraham, Lewis and Elise Abraham, Robert Abraham, Alice Abraham, Ann Marie Abraham-Botero and Dan Botero, Grace Abraham, Ellen Abraham, George Abraham, Audrey Abraham; and great grandchildren: Easton and Briggs Urban.

Therese is preceded in death by her parents: Mary Alice Welch Browne and Robert Connellan Browne, of Mount Airy, NC; her siblings: brothers, Robert Browne, Francis Browne, Robert Maurice Browne, Thomas Marcus Browne III, John Alphonse Browne, Joseph Connellan Browne, Maurice Cornelius Browne; and sisters, Mary Agnes Cohill, and Monica Alice Preisinger.

Her children cared for her at her home during the final years of her life with assistance from caregivers Kristin Lesperance, Terry Thomas, Sonya Martinez, Jessica Lucero, Jenny Cervantes, and aid from Tori Krc with Hemphill County Hospice.

The Abraham family would like to express gratitude to all those involved in her care. They have treated Therese like their own, and for that we are sincerely grateful. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Therese’s name to The Citadelle Art Museum, 520 E Nelson Ave, Canadian, TX, 79014, www.thecitadelle.org/donate or to St. Jude’s Children Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105, www.stjude.org/give