At a candlelight vigil for Professor Maria Brown Wednesday, friends and family shared words of love and sadness for the woman who was set to retire this year, after 40 years of teaching at EC.

Brown died of complications related to cardiac arrest Nov. 19. She was 67.

As the rain poured and the wind whipped, a gathering of family, students, faculty and friends came together to honor and celebrate the life of Brown in the East Dining Room.

“Her legacy is just knowing that she cared about her students,” Au’Shane Harris, Engage Christian Club secretary, said. “We weren’t just students to her – we were family.”

Brown taught several classes including women’s studies and African American history. She was also the adviser to clubs on campus like the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Engage Christian club.

Brown touched the lives of many people and this was evident with her comic book and Black History Month exhibits she would put on in the library every year.

Tears mixed with laughter as people recounted memories of Brown while pictures of her appeared on a projected screen.

“Nobody gives their all like she did,” Tanita Dexter, BSU vice president, said.

Brown’s funeral services will take place Dec. 11 at Mount Carmel Holy Assembly Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

“Mrs. Brown meant everything to me,” Harris said. “Just a smart, honest, amazing woman and she’s been a real joy in my life. We are definitely going to miss her.”