Marlin Jeanette Brown-Gordon

Marlin Brown-Gordon October 24, 1939 – February 1, 2015

Marlin Jeanette Brown-Gordon, 75, of Tybee Island, Georgia passed away peacefully Sunday, February 1, with good friends at her side. She had suffered an aneurysm on January 1.

Marlin grew up on Long Island, New York and in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia and the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Prior to living on Tybee Island, Marlin lived in Connecticut and Hawaii but Tybee was her home for more than 30 years

As owner/founder of the Stork Staff, Marlin travelled the country to help families as a baby nurse and sleep consultant. She was known by many as the “Baby Whisperer” for her ability to calm newborns and regulate their sleeping and eating routines. Her strength was helping establish a predictable routine for the whole family from day one, as well as helping new mothers cope with post-partum depression. Marlin’s true reason d’etre was helping those who needed help the most. She volunteered at soup kitchens, drove friends to doctors’ appointments, formed mothers groups and offered her home to those who needed a place to stay. She was integrally involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. She served on NAMI’s board of directors, taught family-to-family classes and lead crisis intervention team trainings. On Tybee, she loved scavenging the beach for driftwood and other natural treasures and growing fresh vegetables in her garden. She was a dedicated baseball fan and was a regular at Savannah Sand Gnats games for more than 30 years. She was a devout public library patron and loved her standing philosophy discussion groups.

Marlin is survived by two daughters, Laurie Gordon of Bridgehampton, NY, and Stephanie Brooke Evans of Larkspur, CA, one son, Aaron Gordon of Raleigh, NC and a brother, Bruce Wahl of Greenport, NY. She has six grandchildren, Evan and Charlotte Johnson, Gordon, August and Houston Evans and Emily Gordon.

A memorial service for her is planned on Tybee Beach in the Spring.

Donations in Marlin’s memory can be made to National Alliance on Mental Illness Savannah, PO Box 13731, Savannah, 31416, or to Hospice House Savannah, PO Box 13190, Savannah, 31416.

Low Country Cremation Services and Burial is serving the Brown-Gordon family.