Willa
Mae
Brown

WILLA MAE BROWN was born Willa Mae Singleton in Florida around 1915. At the time of the 1930 census she was living with her mother Estella at the home of her step-grandparents, Sylvester and Lulu Lester, at 286 Chestnut Street in Camden NJ. She was the first black woman in the United States Army from New Jersey. After the war. she was a self-employed beautician. She owned and operated the Ebony Beauty Shop at 888 Jefferson Avenue in the Centerville section of Camden from the 1950s through the late 1970s. 

She was a member of the Women's Auxiliary at Cooper Medical Center, a member of the Charles Henderson Auxiliary, and a member of the First Nazarene Baptist Church for over 50 years. She also was a member of the Camden Association for Economic Advancement, a group of Camden's black business owners in the 1960s, 

Willa Mae Brown passed away on August 7, 2003 and was buried at Harleigh cemetery in Camden NJ. 

Camden Courier-Post - August 10, 2003

BROWN, WILLA MAE
87 yrs., of Camden, on Aug. 7, 2003. She is the sister of the late Henry 'Huck' Singleton, and Frank Singleton.
She served in the US military and was the first Black WAC in NJ. She was a self-employed beautician, member of the Board of Directors of the Mary H. Thomas Nursery Home, Inc., a member of the Women's Auxiliary at Cooper Medical Center, a member of the Charles Henderson Auxiliary, and a member of the First Nazarene Baptist Church for over 50 years.
She is survived by her caregivers, Gregory and Gordene Singleton, Tammy and Deiter Tunstall, and a host of other nieces, nephews, special friends, and her church family.
Services will be held 12 NOON Wednesday at First Nazarene Baptist Church, 8th & Fairmount St., Camden where friends may call after 9AM. Interment: Harleigh Cemetery. A viewing will be held Tuesday at the Church from 4-8PM. Arrangements by CARL MILLER FUNERAL HOME, Camden and Lawnside.