Laura Marie Brown

Laura Marie Brown passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 29, in her home surrounded by family. How fitting that it was a Sunday night, as she had fed her entire family every Sunday night for over 50 years. Laura was born on October 3, 1922 in Lewiston, Utah to A. Stanley and Lilly Brown. She was the oldest of four girls. She lived there through the 3rd grade, and then spent a short time in Logan before moving to Richmond, Utah. During these years, she loved spending time at her grandma's house on Sunday nights. In fact, she would spend most of the summer at her grandma's house helping to herd the cows. She wasn't allowed to ride the other horses, but the old mare, Topsy, was hers to ride. During the winter, she loved to sled down the hill. They would start at the top and ride clear down to the middle of town. In 6th grade, she moved from Utah to Missoula, Montana. She was there through the eighth grade. Luckily, she had a cousin who moved there also. She spent a lot of time with that cousin, but she always missed being able to go to her grandma's house on Sunday nights. Next, she moved to Rupert, Idaho where she attended ninth grade. She was only there for one year, and then moved to Twin Falls, where she spent the rest of her life. Laura met her sweetheart, Douglas R. Brown, at a church dance in 1938. Laura had come to the dance with another date, but when Doug saw her, he immediately fell in love. He offered to take them home after the dance, and when the other guy walked Laura to the front porch and kissed her goodnight, Doug wondered why the other guy was kissing his girl. The rest was history. They fell in love and were married on July 11, 1940 in the LDS Logan temple. They would have celebrated their 78th anniversary this July. Doug and Laura moved to their current residence on Filer Avenue in 1942. At that time, it was a farm out of the city limits. Doug milked the cows, while Laura gathered and polished the eggs. As Twin Falls grew, they sold off lots and ended up right in the middle of town. They were fortunate to raise six children in their home, five boys, Doug Jr., Jim, Bob, Dick, and Keith, and then finally a little girl, Sherri. They actually had six boys, but their first son died at birth. Laura was in a coma from the complications and was never able to see her son. Doug did not want to name him without Laura, so the gravestone simply says Baby Brown. What a glorious reunion that must have been on Sunday when Laura got to hold her first son for the first time in 75 years. Life on the farm was interesting with all those boys. One time, Laura couldn't find the four older boys. She found them trapped in the pig feeder crying and hot. They thought it would be fun to get inside, but once they were in, they couldn't get out. By the time the last two children came along, the farm was gone, but life was still good on Filer Avenue. In fact, it was so good, Doug and Laura never moved away. Doug said that Laura used to lie in bed at night and tell him how blessed she was to have such a wonderful family and a beautiful home. Since Laura spent so many Sunday nights at her grandma's house when she was young, she wanted her grandchildren to have the same admiration for "grandma's house" that she had. So 53 years ago she started having her children bring their families over every Sunday night for popcorn and pop. As the grandkids got older, Laura thought they were hungry, so Sunday night evolved into a full blown dinner. After dinner, the kids would all head outside. The yard was big enough for a good game of football or wiffle ball. Grandma would go outside with her grandkids and amaze them with her sommersaults. Lots of memories were made on Sunday nights at grandma's house. As family moved away, their trips back home were always planned around a Sunday night so they wouldn't miss Grandma's house. Through the years, many friends came to Grandma's house on Sunday night with the grandkids. They were always welcomed by grandma, who insisted they eat and come again. To this day, those friends still call her Grandma Brown. In her younger years, Laura worked at Kings and a Soda Fountain. In later years, she worked as a florist at Fox Floral and at Western Nursery. Her favorite job by far was taking care of her house and working in her yard. She was very skilled at using flowers from her beautiful gardens to arrange bouquets for her home. Many people remember and still comment on how they saw her working in her yard in a skirt. This is no surprise as she was a very elegant woman. Laura was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She held many positions in the church from Nursery Leader, to Young Woman's Leader, to Relief Society President. She will likely be most remembered as the Stake Librarian. She held that position for many years and totally organized the church library. She was always willing to help others find what they needed or make copies for them. You could call her after hours, and she was always willing to meet you there if you needed something. In about 2010, Laura was diagnosed with oral cancer. Thankfully, they were able to remove all the cancer, but her life definitely changed. Laura will be remembered for her kindness and totally unselfish service to others. There were no strangers in her home. She loved to visit with people and hear their stories. One of her favorite things was trying to figure out how she could be related to them. She also loved to read, play solitaire, and complete crossword puzzels. Laura is survived by her husband, Douglas R. Brown; children, Robert C. (Cathy), Richard R. (Jacque Sue), Keith (Debbie), Sherri (Dean) Johns all of Twin Falls; one daughter-in-law, Georgia of Austin, Texas; two sisters; Mildred Priess, of Twin Falls, and Gerri (Norm) Traher, of Tucson, Arizona; 22 grandchildren; 52 great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great-grandchild. Laura was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Pauline Jenkins; three sons, Baby Brown, Doug Jr., James Stanley; one grandson, Matthew Brown; and two great-grandchildren, Christina Bybee and Daniel David Miller. The funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 4, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 667 Harrison Street, in Twin Falls. Friends may call from 6 until 8 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at Rosenau Funeral Home, and from 10 until 10:45 a.m. Friday, preceding the service at the church.»(Do not delete this line. It does not print. Text that is to appear on web must be entered before this line)