Muriel E. Brown, a longtime Montclair resident, died on April 6, 2021. She was 67.
Mrs. Brown was born in 1953 to Lawrence F. Howard and Emily Riddock and grew up in the Soundview section of the Bronx.
She attended New York City public schools, Mother Cabrini High School, where she found her love of the arts, and Staten Island Community College, where she studied English language arts and literature.
She worked for many years as a cashier for Pathmark in New York and then joined NYNEX as a customer service representative in 1975. Around that time her only child, Tina Monique, was born.
Mrs. Brown transferred to Bell Atlantic NJ/Verizon in the early 1980s.
All her life she dared to be different. She was a vibrant dresser, with everything matching from head to toe. She was well-liked by everyone, from her hairdresser to the staff at Montclair’s Cameron Animal Hospital, which cared for her pets. She would call Cameron every day to see how they were doing, and make cakes for the staff just because.
Mrs. Brown loved to be surrounded by her family and friends. If music was playing, she loved to dance. She sang beautifully, and was fluent in Spanish and Italian. She also loved going on cruises, and was the life of the party on whichever cruise ship she was on.
She always ended her conversations by saying “Love You Later!”
Mrs. Brown is survived by her stepfather, Eric Riddock, and mother, Emily Riddock; daughter, Tina M. Brown; grandson, Erick C. Wilson; siblings, Eric A. Riddock III, David Riddock, Michelle Howard, Roxanne Smith, Lawrence Stokes, Corey Howard, Crystal Howard, Tara M. Howard, Hasan Charles and Lisa Johnson; sister-in-law, Salma Riddock; brother-in-law, Darryl Smith, and a host of other family members and friends.
She was predeceased by her father, Lawrence F. Howard.
Private funeral services were arranged by Caggiano Memorial Home for Funerals.