Arabella Grier Brown

Arabella Grier Brown, 17, died Friday, August 5, 2016, at Arkansas Children's Hospital surrounded by family. She was born on August 12, 1998, in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was the beloved daughter of Jane and Fred Brown. Bella was the twin sister of Angie Brown who adored her and considered her not only her sister but also her best friend. Bella was a member of Second Presbyterian Church. Bella loved school and her teachers. She attended Forest Park Elementary School. She then attended Pulaski Heights Middle School, where she was elected Student Body Vice President. She also participated in the Superintendent's Cabinet and was among the first students to serve on the Little Rock School District Anti-Bullying Committee. During middle school she was selected twice by her fellow classmates to represent Pulaski Heights at the annual Little Rock Junior Cotillion Holly Ball. Her final school was Mount St. Mary Academy, where she found great pleasure in all the classes and activities with her MSM sisters. One of her favorite things at MSM was attending Father/Daughter Mass with her father. Also, a highlight of each year was the annual Lip Sync where Bella received a rousing standing ovation each time she performed. Bella had a remarkable zest for life and brought her magnetic personality and positive energy to all her activities. Her family considered her a precious gift from God and each day of her life with them a blessing beyond measure. The family wishes to thank all the doctors and nurses of Arkansas Children's Hospital, including the nurses of 3C, who Bella called "her people". A special thank you goes to her devoted nurse Dot Fair and her doctors Robert Warren and Maryelle VonLanthen for their loving and outstanding care. Bella was preceded in death by her dearly loved "Meme", Virginia Davis Johnson, her grandfathers, Fred I. Brown Jr. and Charles Eager Johnson, and her uncle, Charles Davis Johnson. She is survived by her parents, her sister, her grandmother, Patricia S. Brown, her uncles Robert Brown (Kathleen) and Thomas Brown, her aunts Tricia Brown (Jim Fowler), Carolyn O'Rourke (Jack), Debra Brown, Virginia Claire Johnson-Harrison (George Harrison), Tricia Rhodes (Marty), Elizabeth Auchterlonie (Steve) and Gay Johnson. She is also survived by cousins, Claire Kohler (Adam), Davis Kohler, Emma Stewart Kohler, Elizabeth Jackson (Douglas), Lilly Jackson, Virginia Claire Jackson, Robin Casteel (Rachel Pinto), Ollie Casteel, Ava Pinto, Jennifer Harrison, John Rhodes, Hunter Brown, Bailey Brown, Anne Brown, Saer Brown, Will Brown, Lilah Brown, John Thomas O'Rourke, Josie O'Rourke, T.J. Fowler, and Kevin Fowler. Bella also had a very special cat named Midnight. Bella will be available for viewing on Tuesday, August 9 from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at Ruebel Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, August 10 at 11 a.m., at Christ the King Catholic Church with Msgr. Francis Malone officiating. A private burial at Calvary Cemetery will follow. Ruebel Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Bella's online guestbook may be signed at www.ruebelfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mount St. Mary Academy, 3224 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock Ark. 72205, or Arkansas Children's Hospital, 1 Children's Way, Little Rock, Ark. 72202.