Margaret “Sissie” Brown Anderton (82) passed away peacefully on August 27, 2024, in Nashville, TN.
She attended The Palmer School, St. Cecelia, and Hillsboro High School. Upon graduating, she attended Converse College. Her passion for horses and her desire to share that love of riding and training led her to establish Brownland Farm on her father’s farm. Through her commitment to horsemanship and creating a viable outlet for horse enthusiasts, many view her as the matriarch of hunter/jumper sports in Middle Tennessee, and her impact is known throughout the country. She sat on the Board of the Middle Tennessee Hunter Jumper Association for decades, and many, many of those years as president. In the early 1970s she helped create the Nashville Charity Horse Show, which took place at Percy Warner Park. Eventually she began hosting shows at the farm on Moran Road, where she and her husband, Mack, moved Brownland Farm when they married in 1969. In the early 1990s, she and Mack moved back to the original Brownland Farm and their horse shows became popular show grounds for some of the top equestrians in the nation. Her shows continue to be run by her family to this day, and the number of shows has grown to 11 National level shows each year plus many other local/regional shows.
Sissie is preceded in death by: her husband, Mack Anderton; parents, R. Sclater and Margaret Brown; her sister and brother, Mary Fort (Arthur) and R. Sclater Brown, Jr (Tinka); nephew, R. Sclater “Beau” Brown, III
She is survived by: sons Robert (Michelle) Anderton; Peter (Sheralyn) Anderton; a step-son Casey Anderton; grandchildren Rebecca Fryer, Austin, Mack, Will (Rebecca), Maggie, and Lane Anderton; a great grandson, Henry Anderton; nieces Margo Fort and Mariclare Brown; nephew Arthur Fort, III; great nieces and nephews Alex Fort, Fort Hall, Arthur Fort IV, Peter Hall, and Thomas Fort.
Visitation will be at Williamson Memorial on Monday, September 9, from 10am-12pm, followed by a Memorial Service at noon. Interment will be at Mt. Olivet at 2pm. The family will celebrate her life with friends at the home on Brownland Farm from 4-7pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you share your favorite stories about Sissie. Email or mail your stories to michelle@brownlandfarm.com , These stories will be made into a book to help share Sissie’s legacy of horsemanship, kindness, generosity, good humor, and a heart of gold with those that didn’t know her and those of us that want to be reminded of how special she was to everyone that met her.
The family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to Linda Jamison, Caris Hospice, and the nurses and staff at NHC Place at the Trace.