Violet B. Brown, or Vi as she was lovingly called, passed away on September 3, 2023 at the age of 92. Born in Tuscaloosa, AL, Violet’s parents, Otho and Vera Brown, moved the family to Orlando in 1933 when Violet was 2 and she has called Florida home ever since.
She had one older sister, Ruth Nell Brown, who predeceased her. After graduating from Walton High School in 1949, Violet went to work for the Orlando Sentinel where she was hired to set up their library or, as it was fondly referred to at the time, “The Morgue”. She put her organization skills to good use and transformed a room that was in complete disarray to proper order. In 1951, Violet married Garland Bludsworth, whom she had known since elementary school.
She would continue to work at the newspaper office until her first son, Steven Bludsworth, was born in 1957. Her second son, Charles Bludsworth, was born in 1965. In 1971, Garland founded a small business, All Pool Service and Supply, Inc., that would take the family on the next phase of their journey. Garland built the business along with trusted employee Jim King and son Steve who would spend his days after school learning the business from his dad. In 1974, Garland, sadly, lost his life to heart disease. Violet gathered all her organizational skills and dove in head first to help keep the business going.
Along with Steve and Jim, Vi would see the business through many successful years until she retired in 2008. During her time running All Pool, Violet became active in the trade association of the swimming pool industry. She became the first woman to sit on the board of the local chapter and eventually became President of the Central Florida Chapter of the National Pool and Spa Association. She would follow that up by becoming the President of the State Chapter of the organization in 1978. During her tenure, she was awarded the “Person of the Year” award, which up to that point had always been “Man of the Year”, and the “Hall of Fame” award for her many hours of work in the industry.
Violet would find love again later in life when she met William C. Brown, a widower and retired General Electric District Manager. They married in 1983 and spent many happy years together, traveling and doting on their large, extended family until Bill passed away in 2001.
Violet is survived by her sons, Steve, and his wife, Libby, Chuck, and wife Tonya, Steve and Libby’s daughters, Traci and husband Aaron, and Katie and husband Devinn. She is also survived by Bill’s sons and their families, Ron and Laurie Brown, Rick and Celeste Brown, Bob and Patti Brown, and Roger and Barbara Brown. Violet is also survived by her niece Donna Bryce and her husband Les. All told, between the biological and extended families, Violet was happily blessed with 11 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.