Memorial set for School Indigo founder

Though she came to Coeur d’Alene near the end of her life, Judie Brown left her mark on the town and hundreds of its residents.

Friends and students of Brown’s are planning to remember her on April 19 and want to make sure people whose lives she touched know about the gathering.

Brown died Feb. 24 while visiting family in San Diego. She was 66.

Two of her biggest contributions to the Coeur d’Alene community were Camp Indigo, which hundreds of children have attended, and School Indigo, with an enrollment of about 75.

Brown had read the book “The Indigo Children,” by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober, which describes “indigo children” as creative thinkers who can seem anti-social because they see better ways of doing things, don’t worry about self-worth and oppose ritual authority.

Brown, a veteran teacher, wanted to encourage that creativity in children. According to her former minister, Marilyn Muehlbach, “she poured everything she had into the school.”

“Children who went to School Indigo came out with a strong sense of confidence and a real belief they could make a difference in the world,” Muehlbach said.

Some of those children will be singing at Brown’s memorial.

For Victoria Dickinson, Brown truly wanted to see her vision fulfilled.

“She didn’t have to do that. She was retirement age,” Dickinson said, and she had been diagnosed with cancer before she opened the school.

Dickinson was Brown’s mas-seuse and often saw her working on projects at her home.

Brown sewed gemstones onto bears to give to hospitalized children. She quilted – and taught others how to quilt – for the abused and neglected residents of Children’s Village, a shelter.

“She touched so many people,” said Linda Green.

Green had taken Brown’s class on subjective communication, as had Mitch Driller, who took over the class when Brown started School Indigo.

Driller described “subjective communication” as the creation of an interface between the waking self and subconscious self, using meditation to address unresolved issues a person might be having.

“I learned how to listen to my body and act accordingly,” said Driller, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago and said he was able to walk after taking Brown’s class.

Green compared Brown with the cog of a wheel because of her many engagements. “It all traced back to Judie,” Green said. “The world isn’t the same without her.”

Brown underwent treatment last year for tumors doctors found in her brain. The effort was somewhat successful, buying her an extra year, as her friend Mary Beth Matthews put it.

But then tumors started coming back, and Brown started medication again last February. Shortly after that, she died.

She is survived by her husband, Alan Brown; sons, Jeff and Marc Brown; daughter, Laura Berry; and six grandchildren.

Matthews wants to make sure people understand that the event remembering Brown will be a celebration, not a somber occasion.

“We plan on laughing and telling the funny stories on her,” Matthews said.