Obituary: Browne, Nita G.
Age 83
In her youth Nita studied at the Sherwood Conservatory of Music in Chicago, IL and became an accomplished pianist.
After earning her teaching credential in piano, she taught many students in the Los Angeles area in the late 1940s and through the 1950s.
Nita lived in Spokane for the past 40 years, and for 16 of those years she owned and operated the Mission San Juan on Wellesley — and then on S. Wall St. — garnering recognition as one of the best Mexican Restaurants in the Pacific Northwest.
Nita knew virtually all of her customers by name, was deeply intuitive about what they would like to order, and always greeted them with a smile and some chips and salsa!
After her 16-year stint as a restaurateur, Nita spent her time as a caregiver providing home health care for the infirm.
Nita was an extremely generous person, putting the needs of others before her own over the course of her entire life.
She is preceded in death by her mother (Olive Willette), father (Samuel Scott), sister (Shanon King), and daughter (Cozette Browne).
Her survivors include her son Dr. Ricky S. Gutierrez, daughter-in-law Dr. Debra Reeves-Gutierrez, grandsons Ricky Gutierrez and his wife Madeleine, Rudy Gutierrez and his wife Vanessa, Anthony Gutierrez, and Justice Gutierrez.
She also has 12 great-grandchildren that were the light of her life (Ricky, Francis, Victoria, Gabrielle, Dominic, Michelle, Christine, Isabel, Ramona, Ofelia, Kaya, and Julian).
Her son, three of her grandsons, and close family friends were there with her when she passed.
These few words cannot fully convey the sadness in our collective souls as Nita was a one-of-a-kind lady and those who got to know her will miss her kindness, generosity, and sensitivity to the needs of others.
A celebration of life is scheduled for August 22nd from 6-9pm at the VFW, 300 W. Mission, Spokane.
Those whose lives she touched are welcome to attend.
Her son and daughter-in-law are in the process of creating a charter school to serve at risk youth in San Francisco Bay area, and in lieu of cards and flowers donations can be made in her memory to establish the Nita G. Browne School of Music to honor her life of service to others.
Donations can be made out to Rise Charter Schools (a non-profit, charitable 501c3 organization) and mailed to Dr. Ricky S. Gutierrez, 6000 J. St., Sacramento, CA 95819-6085.