Brown, Cheryl , (Mrs, William( 1948-2024

BROWN, NIESSINK

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - Volunteer (email)
Date: 11/2/2024 at 10:05:52

Cheryl Brown

Cheryl Marie Brown (nee Niessink), age 75, of Amissville, VA, beloved Proverbs 31 wife, mother, grandmother, and friend of all who knew her, passed peacefully into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, surrounded by her family, on Thursday, April 18th, 2024 at Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton, VA, after an inspiring 3-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Cheryl was born in LeMars, Iowa on July 22, 1948, daughter of the late Charles & Willemina Niessink. Cheryl grew up on the Niessink family farm in Sioux Center, IA, and after graduating from Sioux Center High School in 1966, she worked as an aide in the local hospital before moving to Englewood, Colorado in 1970, where she met her future husband, Bill. They were married in Sioux Center on April 21, 1972 after Bill returned from a remote Air Force assignment. After a short honeymoon, they returned to Colorado where Cheryl began life as the wife of an Air Force member who was in the early stages of a career which would span more than 30 additional years. While in Colorado Cheryl reaffirmed her faith in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and was baptized by immersion. God blessed Cheryl with motherhood with the birth of Aaron in 1975, followed by Luke in 1979. After nine years in Colorado, the Lord provided subsequent opportunities for Cheryl and Bill to live, serve, and minister in Texas, Alabama, Illinois, Virginia, Florida, and Nebraska until Bill's Air Force retirement in 2002. Late that same year Bill started his second career, which resulted in relocation from Nebraska back to Virginia in 2006 where the Lord guided them to settle in Amissville, Virginia where Cheryl lived until her passing.

Growing up on a small farm against the backdrop of a close-knit, conservative, small-town Dutch community gave Cheryl a deep appreciation for God's word, church attendance, choir singing, Christian family values, hard work, and a love for the outdoors. Those attributes were instilled into Cheryl at an early age and served to shape and direct her internal compass for the rest of her life.

When Cheryl was about five years old, her mother suffered a serious stroke resulting in permanent paralysis of her left arm and left leg. Although the ladies of church and community stepped in and provided a lot of support, over the next few years Cheryl took on an outsized role helping the family with household and farm chores, as well as in assisting in raising her younger brother, Bobby. That early care-giving experience led Cheryl to invest her life in the nurturing of others as she progressed from being an aide, to a CNA, and later on, to becoming an LPN. She worked on a mostly part-time basis in hospitals, nursing homes, and doctors' offices, as well as in private-duty settings, providing compassionate, Christ-centered care to countless numbers of clients.

Her love of singing in various church-choir settings began in junior high school, as did her love for working with children in Sunday school and other church-related programs such as Awana. She continued doing both throughout her lifetime up until her ALS made it impossible to continue. As a Sunday school teacher and role model she had a positive effect on numerous young lives by pointing them to Jesus Christ.

Staying busy while being productive and thrifty in and around the home were Dutch-inherited traits that came naturally to Cheryl. She was an excellent cook and housekeeper who labored diligently to provide a neat and stable home for her family, but her real passion was to be outside as much as possible, "to play in the dirt," as she would often put it. She cultivated flower beds, planted and weeded gardens, canned or pickled vegetables, and mowed lawns. She was also a bird-watcher, carefully observing her bird houses for signs of activity and fretting if the nests seemed to be under threat from predators.

The Lord gave Cheryl artistic abilities. Among other numerous craft things, she made intricate paper-quilling creations, pine-cone wreaths, Christmas ornaments, and paintings, many of which she gave away as gifts to family and friends. She had an uncanny eye for spatial organization and was blessed with the gifts of practicality and common sense.

Opportunities for extensive domestic travel abounded from 2015 – 2023 as Cheryl was able to visit 27 of the lower 48 states while occupying the co-pilot seat in their motorcoach. Her unofficial, but affectionate, title was "The Nagivator" as she would provide "gentle driving guidance" if she thought Bill was about to miss an important turn or otherwise seemed to be hesitant about the travel route. Every mid-January to mid-March was a special treat as she looked forward to "wintering" at an RV park in Gulf Shores, AL where she would meet up with old friends from Iowa and form new, lasting bonds with other ladies in the campground.

Cheryl loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and His joy filled her life with a radiance that permeated her soul. She will always be remembered as a fun-loving wife and friend who had a good sense of humor, laughed a lot, and had a happy disposition and an absolutely beautiful smile. All those who knew her through the various stages of her life would agree that she was one of the sweetest and most loving of women that the Lord put on this earth. Always ready with a smile and a listening ear, countless numbers of friends and family were blessed by spending time with her. She was always eager to show love to those around her with conversation over cups of coffee, hugs with plates of cookies, and a genuine willingness to help in whatever way possible. To know Cheryl was to love Cheryl, and she cherished making friends everywhere she went.

Cheryl is survived by her husband of nearly 52 years, William (Bill) Emmett Brown, Jr.; two sons, Aaron E. Brown & his wife, Kristine of Muskegon, MI and Luke E. Brown & his wife, Erin of Mitchells, VA; a brother, Robert W. H. Niessink & his wife, Rachel of Palmer, AK; and three beloved grandchildren, Cora, Emmett & Molly Brown.

Senior Pastor Dr Peter Witkowski will lead a memorial service on Friday morning, May 10th, at 11 a.m. at Amissville Baptist Church, 776 View Town Road in Amissville, VA 20106. Interment will be in the church cemetery after the service followed by a meal in the Fellowship Hall. The memorial service will be live-streamed on the church's website at www.amissvillebaptistchurch.com.
Source - Sioux Center News of May 22, 2024