Jordice Gigstad Browning, 102 years young, passed away Monday evening, Aug. 7, 2023, at her residence at Atria in Kennebunk.
Jordice was born March 29, 1921, the daughter of the Rev. Walter Theodore Gigstad and Selma (Windingstad) Gigstad. She was a graduate of elementary and secondary schools in Shawano, WI; a small college in Oshkosh, WI; and later attended SMU in Dallas, TX.
After the Rev. Gigstad accepted a position in TX, Jordice moved to Dallas and was employed by Paramount Pictures. Subsequently, she left Dallas for Manhattan where she joined the Goldman Sachs Investment Firm.
After the death of her brother, who was serving in the US Navy, she volunteered for overseas duty with the American Red Cross. She was accepted despite the fact she was a bit more underage than was usually required. She sailed on a troop ship, landed in Naples, and served in Naples and Rome.
After a period in Italy, Jordice met and married William Hull Browning, who had been an ambulance driver with the American Field Service in Italy and Africa. They were married in Rome and were the first tourists to cross the border into Switzerland aver VJ Day. After returning to the States, they lived in Manhattan, Pound Ridge, NY, Ridgefield and Wilton.
Jordice was very active in real estate for over 35 years. She had been a member of the Bedford Golf and Tennis Club, both Pound Ridge and Wilton Garden Clubs and was a member of St. Matthew’s Church, the Wilton Historical Society, Wilton Library, and a volunteer for Nursing Home Care among other organizations.
Jordice was a devotee of theatre, opera and concerts including country western music, and had studied classical guitar in Manhattan. She was also an outdoor enthusiast who enjoyed horseback riding, cycling, golf, skiing (primarily in New England and Canada), surfing in Nantucket during the many summers spent there or kayaking on Lake Champlain, as well as the challenge of bridge. She continued walking throughout her life whether on the country roads, the beach, or in Manhattan.
Jordice was an avid traveler to Europe, England, the Middle East, China and Japan. She sailed around the world in 2003 on the Queen Elizabeth II, covering six continents, and again, on the Queen Victoria in 2009.
Ms. Browning is survived by her three children: Karen Browning and her husband Wayne Tyrrell of South Hero, VT; her son William Charles Browning and his wife Patricia Gosselin of Standish, ME; and her son Scott Wells Browning and his wife Joanne Ahearn of Bala Cynwyd, PA; five grandchildren: Alexis McLaughlin, Ian Browning, Kirby Tyrrell, Drew Browning and Owen Browning; great-grandchildren Callum Browning McLaughlin and Jordice Belle Browning; and her sister Audni Wesch of Horse Shoe Bay, TX.
There are no calling hours. A memorial service was held at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 11 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 2 Lord Street, Kennebunk, ME.
“In the words of General Douglas MacArthur, ‘I shall return!’ and as my son William would say when wanting to end a discussion, ‘Thank you and Goodbye!’” — JGB
To share a memory or leave a message of condolence please visit Jordice’s Book of Memories Page.