Catherine Brown Crescioni

Catherine “Cathy” Brown Crescioni, beloved widow, mother, and sister, passed away on August 25, 2026, at age 76. She was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 21, 1950, the first of three daughters of Melville Carroll Brown and Jean Beveridge Brown. Cathy lived in Havana with her family until June 1960, when the Brown family flew from the Jose Marti International Airport, Havana to the Miami International Airport, FL on one of the Pan American “freedom” flights from communist Cuba.

The Brown family lived in Coral Gables, FL for 3 years (1960-1963), then moved to Princeton Jct., NJ for 1 year (1963-1964). Mr. Brown commuted daily via train to his executive job with an import/export corporation in lower Manhattan, NY.

Tiring of the cold weather and the lengthy commuting time, her father decided to take advantage of a new job offer and move his family to the tropical climate found in the Republic of Panama (RP). In the summer of 1964, the Brown family took the Grace line’s ship, the SS Santa Mercedes to travel by sea to Panama. They lived in Panama City for many years.

Their father loved to play golf, and he was such a good amateur golfer that he won several trophies playing in golf tournaments held in Cuba and Panama. He encouraged Cathy and her twin sisters to take lessons from one of the golf pros at the old Panama Golf Club. Cathy also loved playing golf at the different golf courses available in the Panama Canal Zone.

Over the years, Cathy held several jobs. One of her first jobs as a freshman student at Queen’s College, Charlotte, NC was a part-time job working in the school’s cafeteria. She would tell the story that she told her supervisor one day: “I can make change or I can make sandwiches, but I can’t do both at the same time!” She also worked as an employee with her father’s business, Mercantile Limitada, in Panama City. This provided her with the opportunity to really become bilingual in Spanish like her father.

While living in Panama City, Cathy met her future husband, 1 LT Francisco “Frank” Antonio Crescioni, IV, USA on a blind date. Frank graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York with a Bachelor of Science in June 1979. In 1980, Frank was transferred to the Fort Clayton Army Base in the Panama Canal Zone. They married in September 1981 at the Fort Amador Chapel, Panama Canal Zone.

After their marriage, Frank was transferred to the Fort Irwin National Training Center, CA where he participated in the Army’s tank battles in the Mojave Desert. Cathy remembered that the US Army information pamphlets labelled the base housing conditions at Fort Irwin as “austere.” Frank and Cathy opted to live in an apartment in Barstow, CA.

After Frank’s tour of duty ended, he was transferred to Fort Benning, GA. Cathy and Frank lived in officer’s quarters built in the older part of Fort Benning. Their son, Francisco “Frankie” Antonio Crescioni, V was born at the military hospital in Fort Benning in February 1984. Cathy loved working as a volunteer docent at the Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA.

In 1988, Frank left the United States Army as a Captain and accepted a job with Honeywell as a Logistic Engineer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Crescioni family moved to Minnesota, where they initially rented an apartment in Plymouth and then moved into a new home in Champlin. They made friends with families in the neighborhood that lasted their lifetimes.

Cathy worked as an associate in the Housewares Department at the Kohl’s Department Store near their home for several years. She loved the discounts she received as an employee and especially loved the friends that she met there.

One of the friends she initially met at Kohl’s suggested that Cathy join her at the Maple Grove Department of Public Safety in the Driver and Vehicle Services(DVS) office. Once hired, Cathy also applied to be a Spanish translator and passed the written and verbal examination with ease. Cathy’s fluency in Spanish surprised many people who initially met her. Cathy also taught her colleagues to say “just a moment” in Spanish whenever a customer arrived for service and began speaking Spanish. Cathy would then provide the service in Spanish to the customer.

Once a docent, always a docent. Cathy also volunteered with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as a tour guide.

Cathy moved to an assisted living apartment in 2021 in Brooklyn Park. After a few years, she was diagnosed with moderate Alzheimer’s disease. As the disease progressed, she was recently transitioned to the memory care unit in the same facility.

She peacefully passed away on August 25, 2026, with her son and daughter-in-law present. Cathy was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Frank, who passed in May 2020, and one of her twin sisters, Victoria Brown Fields, who passed in November 2025. She is survived by her sister Valerie Joy Brown, and her son, Frankie Crescioni and daughter in law, Samantha Nicole Fonteyne-Crescioni.

Like many Leos, Cathy was an extrovert and told wonderful stories that charmed many people she met throughout her life. She was an avid reader and loved movies as long as they featured at least one handsome actor. She will be remembered for her sense of humor, kindness, and a love of history, art and gossip.