Frances Ann Browne, 86, passed away peacefully on July 7, 2020 at the Glenridge Nursing home in Augusta, Maine.

She was born on Jan. 19, 1934 in Cassopolis, Michigan, the daughter of the late Clifford and Margaret (MacNab) Kiehn. She grew up in Michigan living in Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor. She graduated from Laurel School for Girls in Cleveland. Upon graduation she went on to attend college at Colby Sawyer. 

Her family has been coming to the Boothbay region since the ’40s and often would rent the pink cottages on Capitol Island. It was on one of these summer stays that she would meet her future husband William Browne. After getting married they moved to Cleveland, Ohio where they started their family. While living in Ohio Frances worked as a social worker often covering some of the pretty rough parts of the city but she didn’t mind as she felt it was a way for her to be able to give back to the people who may need it the most. In 1967 they moved to New Canaan, Connecticut where she worked as a phlebotomist at a local hospital until retiring in 1987. 

After her retirement Frances moved to Maine where she would open MacNab’s Tea Room in Boothbay. She enjoyed her time with her friends and the various groups that would meet at the Tea Room. It was a real sense of community for those who visited. She loved to travel and would visit places like China, New Zealand, and the South Pacific always bringing back unique teas to the tea room. She was also an avid knitter and was a founding member of the tea room’s knitting group lovingly titled “Stitch and Bitch” where they would gather and work on various projects as well as lend a sympathetic ear to each other. 

She is survived by her three sons, Clifford Browne of Danbury, Connecticut, Jeff Browne and his wife Melinda of Boothbay, Maine, Thomas Browne  of New Milford, Connecticut; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Hall's of Boothbay has care of the arrangements. To extend online condolences, please visit hallfuneralhomes.com