Marjorie Eloise (Bowers) Brown (1919 - 2015)

Born 10 Jul 1919 in Camden, Schuyler, Illinois

Ancestors

Wife of Thomas F Brown — married 10 Jun 1939 in Macomb, McDonough, Illinois

Died 6 Nov 2015 at age 96 in Galesburg, Knox, Illinois, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Keith Burke [send private message]

Biography

Marjorie Eloise Brown, 96, of Macomb, IL. passed away in Galesburg, IL on November 6, 2015. She was born July 10, 1919 to Lawrence and Etta Ingles Bowers. She married Thomas Brown on June 10, 1939. He preceded her in death on March 23, 1991. She was also preceded in death by her parents, Lawrence and Ora Bowers, a daughter Bonnie Lou Geer-Hertig; a son, Thomas Lee Brown; a brother, Louis Brown; 5 sisters, Gladys Burke, Hildreth Casey, Esther Vance, Rubye Walraven-Vail and Ada Fawcett. Surviving are her children, Diana Jean (Charles) Scott of Maricopa, Arizona, Janet Sue (William) Stokes of London Mills, Illinois, Craig Leslie (Bobbi) Brown of Gilbert Arizona; 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. She was a nurses aide at McDonough District Hospital. She served as a Girl Scout Leader for over 25 years. She was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Macomb and the Grandmothers Club. Visitation will be at Dodsworth, Piper-Wallen on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 from 10:00 to 11:00 am with a Graveside Service to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. Rev, Dr. Howard White will officiate. Friends and Family are invited to a luncheon following at Wesley United Methodist Church. Cremation rites have been accorded. Family requests Memorial Contributions to Wesley United Methodist Church in lieu of flowers. SERVICES Graveside Service Wednesday, November 11, 2015 11:00 AM And these are Margie remembrances: Lawrence & Etta Bowers children were all born on the farm which was near Ripley in Schuler County with the exception of Ada who was born in Macomb. Marge was the last to be born on the family farm and when she was 22 months old they moved to Macomb. Marge obviously does not remember Easter on the farm or even when they lived in Macomb. There were 17 years difference in their age and even with Marge was older she doesn't remember much of Gladys, Hildreth, or Esther living at home. Esther apparently did live at home for a while - perhaps after attending Western. Gladys, Hildreth and Esther all attended two years at Western and then taught. Esther taught at Colchester but eventually did get her Bachelors degree at Western and her Masters at U of Illinois. Esther taught also taught at Glasford (near Peoria). Dave Vance was also teaching there and that is where they met. Dave was originally from Canton. Esther was a perfectionist, (my comment was like most of the siblings?) and she agreed. Marge remembers Esther chastising Mary Jo for shoving all her freshly washed, folded and ironed clothes into drawers, instead of putting them away neatly. When Tom and Marge lived on West Jefferson (their first house) Dave and Esther lived with them for a while. 1941 - Bonnie was born in Macomb. Note: from Marge remembering their young years. The first house on West Jefferson needed extensive work. No basement, a pump on the kitchen for water. Grandpa Bowers and Tom dug out a basement and put in plumbing (city water also) with a shower in the basement and modern plumbing for the rest of the house. They lived there until WW II when they moved to East Moline. One of Toms siblings was working in factory make bands for bombs and that is where Tom also went to work. Eventually they bought a house in East Moline. Diana was born there in 1946. When the war was over they decided to move back to Macomb and they had to sell their car to make a down payment on their house. Nancy visited Margie 18 May 2015, in Galesburg, and these are the comments. Yes, she instantly remembered her lived across the road from the Ingles' farm - it was Cliff, Maria Ingles' brother. She said he had two sons and one was Bill. She couldn't try to remember the other name. When she tried to remember something you could tell she would get frustrated with herself so I gently changed the subject. She did tell a very interesting story about his wife (couldn't remember her name but you have it) and how she left her family! Apparently during a 'flood,' I assume Crooked Creek, she took a boat and left. They couldn't get out of the house because of flood waters so she must have been determined. That made me think that Crooked Creek must have flooded often in the spring. Both you and Marge must have conferred, or you heard her stories and remembered, or you both remembered exactly the same thing! Correct - Allison and Maria's yard was green and well-cared for while Cliff's was dirt. Marge actually made a face and indicated there was perhaps mud and water. Yes, chickens did run all over the yard but I didn't ask if she remembered what kind.

Sources

• Find A Grave Memorial# 154695540

Census 1930