Elizabeth "Beth" Brown, 20 Oct 1918 - 26 Sep 2018

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

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 7/14/2019 at 14:03:50

Elizabeth "Beth" Brown, of Cedar Rapids, formerly of Marengo, died peacefully on Wednesday, September 26, 2018. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Kloster Funeral Home 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 October 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, Minnesota. 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 Methwick-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 serving as president, and a generous contributor to the library's expansion in 2007; Beth served on the Marengo Chamber of Commerce.

Beth was an excellent business woman, 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

Published in The Gazette on Oct. 2, 2018