Lorraine Brown
Lorraine Brown passed away Wednesday, March 16, 2016, at Calvin Community in Des Moines. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 25, 2016 at McLaren’s Funeral Chapel, at 801 19th Street in West Des Moines, Iowa. Interment will follow at Resthaven Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Calvin Community Foundation (Employee Fund), APDA Iowa Chapter, Plymouth United Church of Christ, or the University of Iowa Foundation.
Lorraine was born September 28, 1918 in Lake Mills, Iowa. She was the only child of Floyd and Beulah Hill, Lorraine spent her childhood growing up in Lake Mills. She loved going back there to visit with friends and relatives, and was a loyal subscriber to the Lake Mills Graphic for most of her life.
Lorraine’s family moved to Ogden, Iowa prior to her senior year of high school. She was a class of 1936 graduate of Ogden High School.
Following high school, Lorraine attended the University of Iowa, where she graduated with a degree in Art History. She was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. At Iowa, Lorraine met her future husband, Paul Edmondson Brown. Paul served in North African and Italy throughout 1942 and 1943. At end of 1943, Paul was reassigned to duties in the United States. Lorraine and Paul were married at the Collegiate Methodist Church in Ames, Iowa on Sunday, January 9, 1944, while Paul was on a 21-day leave between assignments.
Lorraine and Paul spent much of 1944 at Camp Gordon Johnston in Florida where Paul was stationed. At the beginning of 1945, the couple moved to Los Angeles where Paul began a new assignment on the legal staff of the Manhattan Project.
Following the end of World War II, Lorraine and Paul moved to Boone, Iowa. After living in Boone for several years, they moved to Des Moines in the early 1950s where they lived out the rest of their lives.
Lorraine was a member of Plymouth Church. She also belonged to and was active in P.E.O. Chapter HX, the University of Iowa President’s Club, Des Moines Women’s Club, League of Attorneys’ Wives, Kiwanis Ladies, and several other organizations. She volunteered as a reader for IRIS for many years.
Lorraine was an avid sports fan. She was a huge Hawkeye supporter and with Paul attended every home football game for decades. She enjoyed playing tennis in her earlier years (winning an intramural doubles championship at Iowa), and playing golf in her later years. Lorraine and Paul were 50-year members of the Des Moines Golf and Country Club.
Lorraine loved her cats and keeping in touch with friends. Throughout her life, she kept in touch with many of those she had met along her life’s journey. Lorraine and Paul loved road trips and it seemed that they had close friends they were able to stop and visit in most every state.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Mitzi Brown; and three granddaughters: Haley, Amanda, and Victoria Brown, all of West Des Moines.
Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, Paul.
