Asheville – Jeanne Francoise Anne Loula Rockwell Brown died at her home in Biltmore Forest on Friday, March 27, 2009.
She was the daughter of the late Colonel Paul Ayres Rockwell of Asheville and of the late Countess Jeanne Leygues de Terlikowska of Paris, France and St. Raphael.
She was born November 17 in Paris, France just as the German army was poised to invade Paris.
Her father, a Commander of the French Legion of Honor and a combatant in the French Foreign Legion in World Was I, was also the official historian of the Lafayette Escadrille until his death in 1985. Her uncle, Kiffin Yates Rockwell, was one of the seven founding members of the Lafayette Escadrille and is credited with being the first American fighter pilot to down an enemy aircraft.
Her grandfather, George Leygues, was Prime Minister of France in 1920-1921 and a longtime Secretary of the Navy.
Her husband was the late Vance Jordan Brown who died in 1966.
He was a member of an old Asheville family and was the secretary/treasurer of the Asheville Schoonmaker Mica Company, the family business.
He was also a longtime treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina and a devoted member of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Brown was a member of the Biltmore Forest Country Club, the Union du Cercle Interallie in Paris, the Colonial Dames of America and Trinity Episcopal Church.
Footnote: The movie Flyboys a few years back was based on the story of Kiffin Rockwell and his fellow pilots.