Elizabeth 'Beth' Brown, 20 Oct 1918 - 26 Sept 2018

BROWN, KENSINGER, YORK, BOEDEKER, HELLER, BURKE, LARSEN, COLLINS, LAZEAR, HINTON, TAIT, ROSENTHAL

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 10/2/2018 at 14:20:44

ELIZABETH 'BETH' BROWN
Marengo

Elizabeth 'Beth' Brown of Cedar Rapids, formerly of Marengo, died peacefully on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, is assisting the family with arrangements.

Beth is survived by her three children, Janet, Richard (Mitzi Boedeker) and Randy (Keena Heller); six grandchildren, Lizzie Brown (Danny Burke), Sam Brown (Sonja Larsen), Helen Collins (Mitch Collins), Kendra Lazear (Blake Lazear), Karissa Hinton (David Hinton) and Aubrey Brown (Kendall Tait); and four great-grandchildren, Oliver Burke, Arthur Brown, Theodore Brown and Jayden Lazear.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick; her brother, Don; and her sister, Marcia Rosenthal.

Beth was born Oct. 20, 1918, in Lisbon, Iowa, the daughter of Harry E. and Ethel H. York Kensinger. She was the oldest of her three siblings. Beth grew up in Cedar Rapids and attended the University of Iowa. She worked at WSUI, a 100-year-old college radio station. After graduation, she worked at Campbell Mithun, an advertising and marketing firm in Minneapolis, Minn. In 1958, she married Dick Brown and became the mother of his three children, Janet, Rick and Randy. She was a partner with Dick in the Brown Hardware family business until Dick's death in 1980. Beth sold the business to Mark Swift in 1985. She moved to Meth-Wick Manor in 2002.

Beth was a member of PEO since 1937, a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Marengo for 54 years and an elder, a member of the Marengo library board and also served as president, and was a generous contributor to the library's expansion in 2007. Beth also served on the Marengo Chamber of Commerce.

Beth was an excellent businesswoman, a committed civic leader and, above all, a loving wife and mother. She enjoyed traveling and going on Elderhostel trips. She especially enjoyed going to concerts, reading and writing.

Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

The Gazette, 02 Oct 2018 11a