Probate Court Judge Lillis Brown recently announced she is seeking re-election for her sixth term in office.

Brown said in a released statement, “I have enjoyed serving the people of this County. There is never a day that I mind going to work. Even though I believe this office operates with great efficiency, there is always room for improvement. There is never status quo.”

The Probate Court oversees the transactions that mark the span of life, such as birth certificates, wills, marriage licenses, adoption papers and proceedings, gun licenses.

Brown, a resident of Rockdale since 1967, reflected on the changes she’s seen during her years as Probate Judge.

“When I came into office in 1993, there was no automation and everything was still done by hand. It has been amazing to grow with the evolution of automation,” she said.

Brown, who was the first female judge in Rockdale County, began her career in the District Attorney’s office in 1981, when it was still part of the Stone Mountain circuit. She went on to become clerk of Magistrate Court and Assistant Magistrate Judge until 1989.

In 2010, Brown was named Probate Judge of the Year. She’s served as past president of the Probate Judge’s Council of Georgia and is the past Chair for the Probate Judges Training Council. Locally, she’s also served at the United Way, Rockdale Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Rockdale Coalition for Families and Children, a 1998 graduate of Leadership Rockdale, and is a current member and past president of the Pilot Club of Conyers.

Brown graduated Rockdale County High School in 1970 and is a graduate of Mercer University and John Marshall Law School.

She and her husband Dusty Brown have two children, who also graduated high school in Rockdale County, and eight grandchildren. Brown and her husband attend Conyers First Baptist Church.