Marie Brown, 84, of Watseka passed away on Sunday, February 23, 2020 at the Iroquois Resident Home in Watseka, surrounded by her loved ones. She was born on August 4, 1935 in Watseka, the daughter of Martin D. and Gertrude (Gocken) Johnson. She married Robert Redman and he passed away on April 5, 2014. She later married James Brown on May 22, 1981 in Champaign and he preceded her in death on May 4, 2011.

 

Surviving are three daughters, Debbie (Steve) McCullough of Watseka, Pam (John) Baldwin of Greenville, SC and Jill (Gary) Law of Perkasie, PA; two sons, Jeff (Dawn) Brown of Rock Falls, IL and Greg (Joyce) Brown of Rockford, IL; one brother, Marion (Fran) Johnson of West Lafayette, IN; and one sister, Carolyn (Mike) Gerkin of Apple Valley, MN; eleven grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren.

 

Marie was a member of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Crescent City, where she was a women's group member. She was the past executive director of the county USDA office where she trained many employees in the State and Federal USDA offices. She was a member of the National Active Retired Federal Employees Association, where she was a past president and secretary. Mrs. Brown was a volunteer at Iroquois Memorial Hospital. She loved playing golf, cards and games, particularly Farkle, with her family. Marie was a talented artist and especially enjoyed water color painting. Most importantly, she cherished spending time with her grandchildren.

 

Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at the Knapp Funeral Home in Watseka. Rev. Joel Brown will officiate. Burial will follow at G.A.R. Cemetery in Watseka.

 

Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 28, 2020 at the Knapp Funeral Home in Watseka.

 

Memorials may be made to Iroquois Memorial Hospice or St. Peter Lutheran Church in Crescent City.