Majlis Wilhelmina Alice Pearson

Born in Manhattan, NY on June 24, 1941, Majlis Wilhelmina Alice Pearson, a resident of Climax, NY most of her life, passed on into the loving arms of our Lord on July 13, 2022 at Columbia Memorial Hospital, Hudson, NY. She was the daughter of immigrants Martha and Nils Pearson from Aland Islands, Finland and the older sister of Nansy Maria Mackenzie who was the mother of Scott and Michael Mackenzie. Majlis attended Coxsackie Athens High School and graduated Monroe School of Business around 1959. In 1964, she married her beloved James “Jim” Brawley in the Church of St. Raymond in Bronx, NY. Together they would have a lovely daughter in 1970 and adore their three rambunctious grandchildren. She worked as a secretary in an advertising agency and eventually a personal home healthcare aide. For the majority of her life, Majlis attended St. Mary’s Church of Coxsackie faithfully along with many of her beloved friends, and she was an active member of the Columbiettes and the Altar Rosary Society. A lover of the arts her whole life, Majlis enjoyed ballet, drawing, painting, and even participated in the avant garde film movement along with her Jim. Her dancing was exquisite, and at one time she got the chance to try out and dance with the Rockettes. For her entire life, Majlis enjoyed watching ballet, opera, musicals, and going to each one of her grandchildren’s dance recitals. In 1963, she acted in the short film “Anita Needs Me” along with her husband and their filmmaker friends the Kuchar Brothers (do not look up other Kuchar films, trust me, but the one they were in was fine). It was a psychological exploration film, and the young couple enjoyed doing such explorations together whether in film, walking around the city, or simply ice skating or dancing together. In her later years, Majlis enjoyed riding the senior buses with her friends, attending parties, taking walks and chatting with neighbors along the way, dressing up, and taking pictures of her flowers, family, and friends. She especially adored going to weddings and graduations and watching them on TV. Majlis also loved traveling, no matter what the adventure or how simple and she would always want to take pictures of anything that looked interesting to her. She spent a lot of time with her family going to street festivals and drive-in movies where she always would say she didn’t want anything but then eat tons of popcorn and cotton candy which were some of her favorites along with pizza we smuggled in. Her favorites were the comedies as seen by Majlis’ joyful smiles and love of laughter that everyone who knew her will miss hearing, especially because it was as beautifully unique as she was. Majlis, also affectionately known as Nana, is survived by her loving daughter Marianne and three grandchildren David, Deborah, and Valerie Brannan, and in the memories she left behind in those she knew and loved. And as her granddaughter’s graduation cap, which Majlis took pictures of, says: “May you always remember when the shadows fall —“You do not walk alone.” As she walks with her Savior, so she still walks in spirit and in hearts of all those who love her and remember to laugh and love life as much as she did. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend calling hours at The St. Mary’s R.C. Church, 80 Mansion Street, Coxsackie, N.Y. 12051, on Thursday, July 21, 2022, from 9:30 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated the same day at the church at 11:00 A.M. Interment will follow in the family plot of The St. Mary’s Parish Cemetery, Coxsackie, N.Y. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of The W. C. Brady’s Sons, Inc. Funeral Home, 97 Mansion Street, Coxsackie, N.Y. 12051. Condolences and memories may be shared at www.wcbradyssonsinc.net.

Majlis Wilhelmina Alice Pearson

June 24, 1941 - July 13, 2022