Anna Mae Brown

Funeral services for Anna Mae Brown were held on Friday, June 28, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Gregory, SD with Father Jonathan Dillon celebrant.

Lector was Darla Ryan, cantor was Jane Schoenfelder, altar servers were Averie Stukel and Addyson DuFrane, and gift bearers were Annette Bell and Darla Ryan. Vicki Nelson was in charge of registration and flower attendants were Joyce Heaton and Ree Brown.

Casket bearers were Eric Brown, Jeff Brown,Tony Ryan, Quin Brown, Devan Vansyoc, and Brandon Vansyoc.

Interment was in the Winner City Cemetery in Winner, SD. Kotrba-Smith Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Anna Mae Mathilda (Meyer) Brown was born December 13, 1925, to Agnes (Goeden) and Barney Meyer in Gregory, SD, where she was baptized into the Catholic Church. She grew up in the Paxton community and received all her sacraments, including matrimony and her 50th wedding anniversary at St. John’s. Anna Mae received her education for the first eight grades at Meadow Brook, high school at St. Mary’s Academy in O’Neill, NE, a year of college at Springfield, SD, and Notre Dame at Mitchell, SD.

Anna Mae married Willard Rex Brown on June 21, 1948, in Paxton, SD. To this union five children were born: Vernon, Annette, Richard (Rick), Darla (DJ) and Rodney.

Anna Mae was a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. She taught country school in Gregory and Tripp counties; worked for two years at the Winner Nursing Home, five years at the Adjustment Training Center and worked as a dental assistant for seventeen years.

After Rex passed away in 2006, Anna Mae moved to an apartment in Mitchell, SD, in order to be closer to her remaining sister, Agnes Muller. When Rose Manor Assisted Living had an opening in Colome, she moved back and lived there until it closed. Anna Mae then moved to Silver Threads Assisted Living Center in Gregory until her health took a downward turn. She then moved to the Rock County Long Term Care in Bassett, NE, where she lived until her passing on June 21, 2024.

Anna Mae is preceded in death by her husband Willard Rex Brown; parents Barney and Agnes Meyer; sister Sr. Bernard Meyer; son Richard Dean Brown; grandson Lee Davis Brown; and granddaughter Corrin Salgado.

She is survived by four children: Vernon Brown (Joan), Annette Bell (Jerry), Darla Ryan (Rod), and Rodney Brown (JoAnn); and multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren.