Amy Sosland Brown Amy Sosland Brown died on September 18, 2019 with family by her side at the home she loved in West Sussex, England. The doors and windows of her cottage were wide open as she passed with the sun setting gloriously on the beautiful South Downs. Amy was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 14, 1949. As the first child of Morton and Estelle Sosland, she had the good fortune of growing up around all of her grandparents, great-uncles and great-aunts, as well as Morton and Estelle's sisters and brothers. Amy graduated from Sunset Hill School, the president of her class, in Kansas City in 1967. She attended Colby College, Waterville, Maine, and 18 years after her son Andrew Russell Brown was born, Amy returned to school, graduating in 1990 from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. From Smith, she matriculated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). Amy graduated from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning within the School of Architecture and Planning, with a Master of City Planning (M.C.P.) degree and in 2002 a doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning. She lived most of her adult years in Harvard, Massachusetts, where she served on local boards. In the early 2000's she returned to the Midwest to take a teaching job at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. During this time, she also served on the national advisory board of the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Beginning in the 1980s, Amy frequently visited her parents at their second home in Upperton, West Sussex, and over time she fell in love with the beautiful English countryside. Amy moved to England in the late 2000's, eventually assuming dual citizenship. Amy loved her son and granddaughters very much. Even though they were on different continents, they communicated daily thanks to email and social media. She would proudly show off their pictures to everyone she met. Amy also loved her three dogs, Flash, Purdy and Waldo, taking them on regular walks along her favorite footpaths. The arts and history were passions of Amy, and she loved attending performances at Glyndebourne, a mecca for opera. Amy's father Morton predeceased her by four months. She is survived by her mother Estelle; a son, Andrew (Kate Miller); granddaughters, Julia and Charlotte; sister Elizabeth; brother Charlie (Jeanne); nephew Meyer (Mindy) nieces Sarah (Benton) and Sophie (Ryan); three great-nieces, Rosa, Isabel and Aviva; and a great-nephew, Amon; as well as aunts, uncles and many cousins and loving friends. Amy has chosen to be cremated and for her ashes scattered at a special place in England. A celebration of her life will be held in England at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex, England BN8 5UU.
Published in Kansas City Star on Sept. 29, 2019