Marsha Brown Hayes passed away in her sleep June 24, 2022, age 70. A native Memphian and proud member of the 12 year club at East High School, Marsha was described by friends as the smartest person they knew. She had the drive and focus to conquer any subject and the wisdom to apply those powers only to matters that she cared deeply about.
When her Freshman year studying architecture at Tulane University was cut short by the untimely death of her father, Marsha transferred to Memphis State (which at the time had no architecture department) and pursued multiple majors as varied as Microbiology, Mathematics, and Journalism before graduating in Biology. She supported herself working in the Campus Computer Center, home to the behemoth Delta 7 Mainframe computer. It was there that she honed her skills writing programs in Pascal, Fortran, and COBAL, which ultimately led to a career as a Systems Engineer, first with Four-Phase of Cupertino maintaining their software in their computers across Mississippi and Arkansas, and then with Computer Applications writing code for Memphis businesses, including Holiday Inn, Dobbs House and FedEx.
And it was at Memphis State that Marsha met her husband Ja, who she married in 1982. Her lifelong love of architecture and historic preservation dictated they would live in Central Gardens, midtown Memphis. Marsha and Ja took up residence in an American Foursquare that they lovingly renovated, and became the home in which they raised their family. The demands of a growing family ultimately ended Marsha's computing career just as the world shifted from mainframes and table tops to PCs and laptops.
The same architectural passions made Marsha the go-to authority in the history and architecture of her beloved Central Gardens. She has helped multiple homeowners research their architectural histories of their properties, and headed the neighborhood home tour twice, one based on the 100th anniversary of the
1912 Gravure Artwork of Memphis.
Her publication:
Central Gardens, A Walking Tour
is still available for self-guided tours. It is not entirely in jest that she was named President of the Dead Architect Society.
Marsha was preceded in death by her parents Evelyn Ross Brown and Clarence Laverne Brown and survived by her husband Ja and children Jack (fiance Lana) and Marie, and brothers Greg (fiance Nuoi Ngo) and Brock (Denise).
A Memorial Service is planned in the cool of the Fall at Grace Saints Episcopal Church with visitation at her beloved American Foursquare.
