Pamela Gail Counts

Heaven gained its newest resident, Pamela Gail (Brown) Counts on October 9, 2026, after a hard-fought battle with illness. Anyone who knew Pam knows that she was met at the heavenly gates with a “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” While we remain on earth, mourning the loss of a bright light we knew and cherished, she is in the presence of her Savior, no longer in pain.

Pam was born on August 23, 1951, in Miami, FL, to her parents, Tommy Lee Brown and Tommie Mae Brown. The first of four children, Pam was a force of nature. Family members will tell you that she was fiercely protective of those she loved (and once hunted a kid down to “teach him a lesson” about messing with her little brother!). She deeply loved her family, friends, and most importantly, Jesus.

She spent her childhood in South Florida, on 45th Terrace in Lake Forest, now known as West Hollywood. She grew up with her three younger siblings: Katherine “Kat” Ann Brown (Jones), William “Bill/Billy” Brown, and Bonnie Lee Brown (Schroeder). With their parents, they regularly took “Redneck Tours” to visit family in various places such as Crawfordville, GA; and Anderson, SC.

While working at a hospital in nutrition, she met Earnest “Wayne” Counts, who would become and remain the love of her life until her last breath. Pamela Brown became Mrs. Pamela Counts on February 9, 1970, in Fort Lauderdale. If you ask Wayne, he’d tell you he, “married her to make her laugh,” as she was always telling him how much he made her laugh. They welcomed two daughters – Kimberly Lynn Counts on June 9, 1970, and Kristi Lee Counts on April 1, 1975- raising the girls in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale before permanently moving to their forever home of the Ocala Forest in 1976. They were known to take family camping trips and Georgia and SC, as well as trips to Disney.

She was heavily involved in the church she and Wayne attended for decades – Ocklawaha Bridge Baptist Church. The love of Christ was one of her favorite things to share with anyone, in word and in action. Pam sewed pillowcases for children with cancer, and was a beloved Sunday School teacher for years. It was here she connected with children and poured the love of Jesus into the hearts of little ones, including her “adopted” granddaughter, Tinsely Grace Parrish, whom she loved deeply.

Pam wore many hats in her lifetime, ranging from being a licensed hairdresser for over 40 years, a cake decorator in the 70s, a School Bus Driver in the 80s (Where she even suspended her own Kristi once off her bus) and her favorite role (outside of being a mother and grandmother) – Working at the church daycare. It was here she finally found her true calling in work, and she worked here for years until recently. One can only imagine the little hearts she inspired, and the love so many children felt in her presence.She was a stranger to no one, willing to strike up a conversation with anyone she came across or ran into when she “went to town” in Ocala. She was well-known as a crafty lady known for making various art, specifically for her primitive creations. Her craftwork was sold in boutiques, and at craft fairs she and Wayne would travel to around Florida. When her nieces came to visit, they knew they were in for a treat with something to create with Aunt Pam. Most nieces spent a majority of their young lives wearing summer dresses made by Aunt Pam, sometimes with an accompanying matching doll.

She was many things to many people, and she also had her creature comforts. Pam was a lover of crafts and cakes, a sucker for romance shows and murder mysteries, and in the words of her daughter, Kim, “a total crime junkie.” She was a fan of The Olive Garden, Chipotle, and chicken wings from Charlie Horse, and unbeknownst to some, the tiny ice from Sonic – with or without a drink in the cup.

Pam was a fan of traveling with her husband, her girls, and her grandson, Zachary, who was the other love of her life. She made several trips to Broadway in New York City, as she was a fan of live theatre, seeing “Wicked” with Kim and Jersey Boys with Wayne. She and Wayne traveled across the country to see Kristi when she lived in Alaska and in the Pacific Northwest. She traveled to places such as Georgia and the mountains, but her favorite destination of all was The Beach.

She will forever be missed for her huge heart, her love of life and fellowship, her devout faith, and her famous chocolate oatmeal cookies that she swore would only turn out right if made on a sunny day (and was Billy’s favorite part of the care packages she sent to him during his time in the Navy).

Wayne was asked, “What was something special between you two?” to which he responded “Every day. Every day was special with her.” Even in the midst of mourning, Wayne and Pam experience the love of a lifetime, something not everyone experiences. If Pam would want to leave us with any advice, her daughters Kim and Kristi believes it would be this: “Love deeply, love the Lord, be kind, be sweet and lastly - she loved us more”

Pam is survived by many loved ones including her husband of 57 years Wayne Counts, daughters Kimberly Lynn and Kristi Lee Counts (Daughter-in-law Jessica Counts), grandson Zachary Carter Counts, sisters Katherine Ann (Brown) Jones, and Bonnie Lee (Brown) Schroeder, brother William “Billy” Brown, several nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and friends that she made her own family. Though we remain on earth, grieving the loss of who Pam was to each of us, she remains a part of all of us and is currently experiencing the glory of eternity with her Lord with a new body, ready to welcome all of us when we arrive to the party with her. 

A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 16, 2026 at 11:00 A.M. at Countryside Funeral Home. Visitation will be held an hour prior at 10:00 A.M. Interment will follow at Ocklawaha Bridge Baptist Church Cemetery. 

Countryside Funeral Home has been entrusted with the final arrangements.