Mrs. Brown received a bachelors of science degree in elementary education from Central Missouri State University in May 1964. She was a long-time teacher, first at High Point and Anderson Schools and then with Sedalia Public Schools, until she retired in 1982. She was a charter member of Alpha Delta Kappa sorority in Sedalia and an active member of Christ & Trinity Lutheran Church for more than 50 years. An artist and a poet, her relatives and acquaintances have received her verse in greeting cards through the years. Her paintings, mostly seascapes, flowers and fowl, are displayed in her home and the homes of many of her friends and relatives. She and George enjoyed numerous years of trailer camping. In their later years, since 1987, they spent winters in Key West, Florida, at the home of their son.
Survivors include a son, J. Douglas Brown, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Key West; a daughter, Mary Jo Brown Banks, of Phenix City, Alabama; and a sister, Fern Freeman Anderson, of Whapeton, North Dakota.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, George Ralph Brown; her parents, Henry and Mary Freeman; a brother, Loren Freeman; two grandsons, Coleman Ralston Banks and Marcus Erroll Banks; and a son-in-law, Ralph R. Banks Sr.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 5, 2004, at Christ & Trinity Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Yvonne Marshall officiating. A luncheon will follow the burial at the church.
Pallbearers will be great nephews, Matt Deuschle, David Graham, Jacob Graham, Joshua Graham and Matthew Graham, and family friend, Larry Ream.
Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday at Heckart/Gillespie Funeral Home. Friends may also sign the guest register online at www.heckart-gillespie.com.
The family suggests memorial contributions to Christ & Trinity Lutheran Church, Show-Me Christian Youth Home, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Geraldine Opal Brown, 82, of Sedalia, died Tuesday, December 21, 2004, at the Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West, Florida, following a long illness.
She was born November 21, 1922, in Geneseo, North Dakota. On October 2, 1944, in Sedalia, she was married to George Ralph Brown, of Green Ridge, who died October 27, 2003.
