Official Obituary of
Marilyn Jayne Brown
June 22, 1935 ~ August 9, 2020 (age 85) 85 Years Old
Marilyn Brown Obituary
Marilyn Jayne Sedrel Brown (née. Gross), 85, of Brownsville, TX. passed away peacefully in her home with her beloved husband of 50 years, Les, by her side on August 09, 2020.
Born June 22, 1935 in Milwaukee WI. to parents Ira Folk Gross and Lorene Dorothy Gross (née. Ralston) and raised in Des Moines, IA., Marilyn’s life was truly a life well-lived. She graduated nursing school with an RN from Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Des Moines, IA., in 1957. She enjoyed a successful and rewarding career as an RN in both IA. and IL. for several decades before becoming the first female pharmaceutical sales representative with Smith Kline French Pharmaceuticals, where she worked until her retirement in 1985. Marilyn always excelled at whatever she put her mind to and her professional career brought rewards and recognitions too numerous to name.
Upon her retirement, they moved from Normal, IL. to Holiday Island AR. where they enjoyed many happy years and where she was able to embrace her passion for art and begin her personal love affair with the creative spirit that she had always carried within her. Over the remaining years as she nurtured and developed that creativity and her own personal style through experimentation, classes, workshops and the courage to play and have fun with her Art, she became quite an accomplished Artist as was typical of Marilyn in all of her undertakings through out her life. Marilyn’s zest for living, her natural inclination to give to others, to encourage others in their own journeys, along with her ability to teach, mentor, and guide, lead her to become a valued member and a great asset to the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts in Brownsville, TX., where she served in various capacities from the time she and Les came to live there in 1996. She has touched the lives of all who knew and loved her throughout the fullness of her years with Beauty and Joy and will be deeply and forever missed.
Marilyn is survived by her husband, Lester Edward Brown; children, Lynnea Lorene Donai (David J.), Steven Mark Sedrel (Deborah J.), Douglas Lester Brown (Mary K.); 13 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.
There will be a Celebration of Life at the Unity Church in Brownsville, TX to be scheduled at some point in the future.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers any donations in Marilyn’s memory be made to The Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts, 660 E. Ringold St., Brownsville, TX, 78520. (956) 542-0941.
Born June 22, 1935 in Milwaukee WI. to parents Ira Folk Gross and Lorene Dorothy Gross (née. Ralston) and raised in Des Moines, IA., Marilyn’s life was truly a life well-lived. She graduated nursing school with an RN from Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Des Moines, IA., in 1957. She enjoyed a successful and rewarding career as an RN in both IA. and IL. for several decades before becoming the first female pharmaceutical sales representative with Smith Kline French Pharmaceuticals, where she worked until her retirement in 1985. Marilyn always excelled at whatever she put her mind to and her professional career brought rewards and recognitions too numerous to name.
Upon her retirement, they moved from Normal, IL. to Holiday Island AR. where they enjoyed many happy years and where she was able to embrace her passion for art and begin her personal love affair with the creative spirit that she had always carried within her. Over the remaining years as she nurtured and developed that creativity and her own personal style through experimentation, classes, workshops and the courage to play and have fun with her Art, she became quite an accomplished Artist as was typical of Marilyn in all of her undertakings through out her life. Marilyn’s zest for living, her natural inclination to give to others, to encourage others in their own journeys, along with her ability to teach, mentor, and guide, lead her to become a valued member and a great asset to the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts in Brownsville, TX., where she served in various capacities from the time she and Les came to live there in 1996. She has touched the lives of all who knew and loved her throughout the fullness of her years with Beauty and Joy and will be deeply and forever missed.
Marilyn is survived by her husband, Lester Edward Brown; children, Lynnea Lorene Donai (David J.), Steven Mark Sedrel (Deborah J.), Douglas Lester Brown (Mary K.); 13 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.
There will be a Celebration of Life at the Unity Church in Brownsville, TX to be scheduled at some point in the future.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers any donations in Marilyn’s memory be made to The Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts, 660 E. Ringold St., Brownsville, TX, 78520. (956) 542-0941.
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