Lily Schelert Brown, 82, of Morganton, NC, passed away Monday, October 6, 2025. Born on June 7, 1943 in Shepetivka, Ukraine, she was the daughter of the late Brethold Schelert and Elsa Rode Schelert. During World War II, her family was forced to flee their homeland and became refugees. Through the Lutheran World Relief, the family of eight came to the United States in April 1952. Grace Lutheran Church and the community of Hebron were their sponsors. The town became the Schelerts’ new home.
Lily, who became deaf from a very early age, graduated from the Nebraska School for the Deaf in Omaha before attending Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C. Valedictorian of her class in Omaha, went on to earn a master’s in education from the University of Tennessee. Her career was dedicated to teaching deaf-and-hard-of-hearing students. She taught at the Illinois School for the Deaf for three years and twenty-five years at North Carolina School for the Deaf.
In addition to her parents, Lily was preceded in death by two sisters, Maria Nedza (2001) and Edi Grossi (2019); and a brother, Fred Schelert, 2020.
Through an adult adoption in 2018, she is survived by her daughter, Carolyn Everett-Nartey and husband Dr. Maxwell Nartey, of Orland Park, IL; granddaughter, Kellie R. Surratt of Morganton, NC; grandson, Desmond L. Everett and wife, Tyesha, of Rosedale, MD; brothers, Ewald Schelert, of Longmont, CO and Reinhart Schelert and wife, Wanda, of Albuquerque, NM; sister-in-law, Jenny Schelert of Lincoln, NE; brother-in-law, Charles Nedza of Bruning, NE; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.
The family will receive friends from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Saturday, October 25, 2025 at Sossoman Funeral Home. The memorial service will follow at noon in the Colonial Chapel of the funeral home with Rev. George Logan officiating. Interment will follow in Burke Memorial Park.
Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.
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The things we did not know until we read the obituary. We worked together on the campus of the NC School for the Deaf for many years and had some good conversations. Lilly cared for her students in special ways. Lord in your mercy keep her family and friends in your loving care as they navigate the grieving process. Thank you for sharing Lilly with us.
Lily Brown was a fun person to be with and certainly very wise. We became fast friends in 2018. Altho time was short, it seemed much longer as we did many things together and our friendship was deep. We both loved to go to small towns in NC and explore. We shared love for puzzles and games. We laughed and cried together. We even curled each others hair . We had fun going to thrift stores and find treasures. Im blessed to call her my close friend. She was a dedicated teacher and wanted to share her knowledge and wisdom with her students. I will always cherrish our times together. Till we meet again, my dear friend, Lily Brown
In life there are few moments that you get to meet someone so genuinely loving and authentically kind. It’s a rare characteristic, but not for my Ms. Lily. Her smile was so beautiful like sunshine, it would light up a room. I will always cherish the memories of Ms.Lilly smiling and enjoying praise & worship. Hands raised, eyes closed feeling every vibration of the music as she worshipped her King in spirit and in truth. I was fascinated and in awe of her ability to connect with the us during our worship experience. Although she didn’t hear with her natural ears she heard clearly with her heart. I was so honored to know her. A woman of unwavering faith & strength. Love you Miss Lilly, rest well beloved. Forever in my heart Ms. Candi To the family, you are in my thoughts and prayers. To Carolyn and Kellie, I love you both and I’m a phone call away.
Aunt Lily, thank you for being one of the fun adults when I was a kid, and showing me that being expressive didn't need to be limited to a narrow set of "norms". Your patience with me in my sporadic ASL learning continued to be a huge gift, even in my local community with people you've never met. Thank you for the opportunity you gave for me to know Carolyn and all the LOVE that's expanded into. The deep example you gave of faith and forgiveness will ripple out forever around me, everyone who knows you, and the world.
Sending my sincere condolences to the family.Ms.Lily was such a sweet lady.She will truly be missed.She became a part of the Everett family many years ago.She was such a lady full of humor.May she Rest In Heaven.💐🙏
So sorry for your loss 😔
Sending Prayers to you and the Family. I am so sorry for your loss, I will always have memories of her. She was a beautiful woman of GOD🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️❤️❤️many Blessings