Edna M. Brown, 95, of Arlington, died in the Brookings hospital on April 10, 2018.
Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, April 16, 2018, at United Methodist Church in Arlington. Burial is in the Arlington City Cemetery. Visitation is from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, at the Johnson-Henry Funeral Home in Arlington and preceding services in the church on Monday.
Edna was born on Dec. 28, 1922, at her parent's home in Magnolia Minnesota, to Albert and Gesine Brooks. She was baptized when she was 10 years old and joined the Methodist church in Magnolia. She attended school in Magnolia and graduated from high school in 1940. Edna went on to attend and graduate from Teacher's Training in LeCenter, Minnesota, from 1941 through 1942. She taught two years in a rural school in Rock County, Minnesota.
In the summer of 1939 she met the love of her life Howard Brown. After courting for five years, she married Howard at her parent's home in Magnolia on June 21, 1944. The couple lived in De Smet, from June until February where Howard was employed as an assistant county agent. They then moved to Burke, that February with Howard being the county agent for Gregory County.
After one year in Burke, they moved to Arlington, where Howard went into partnership with his brother Paul and his father Walter W. Brown raising hogs, cattle, sheep and grain. Also at that time, a separate partnership was formed with Paul raising mink.
After the couple settled down in the family business, they raised three children, Russell, Kathy, and Walter.
Edna was a member of the Arlington Methodist church since 1946. She served many years in ladies mission circle and as a Sunday school teacher. Edna's life revolved around her love and service to her family and to her church.
She was involved with the mink farm especially at the time of counting and recording the mink litters in the spring. Also, for many years she prepared meals in their home for the mink pelting and fleshing crews that came in for the fur harvest.
On Aug.4, 1980, Howard died unexpectedly. The couple shared 36 years of marriage together. She continued to live on the family farm and helped with the whelping of the mink for many years. In 2013 after falling in her home and breaking her hip, she moved into the Arlington Care and Rehabilitation Center in Arlington. She enjoyed family visits there and her son Russell spent every day for the next five years having meals with her and watching after her.
A favorite pastime for Edna was Russ reading out loud to her many different books, as her eyesight made it difficult for her to read by herself. Another activity she liked was solving the word jumble with Russ in the newspaper. She was amazing how quick she was at that.
Edna is survived by their three children; Russell Brown of Arlington, Kathy (Dan) Simpson of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and Walter Brown (Kris) of Arlington; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband Howard, a brother, Robert Brooks, three sisters, Mildred Klosterbuer, Esther Norberg and Beatrice Goembel.
