Wednesday February 1, 2023
Arlene Menning Brown
Arlene Menning Brown
Marion
Arlene Menning Brown, 87, of Marion, died January 28, 2023. Visit: Monday, February 6, 2023 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids. Memorial Service: Monday, February 6, 2023 at 11 a.m. at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids. A live stream of the memorial service is available on the Church Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stmarkscedarrapids.
Private Memorial: Woodlawn Cemetery in Oilwine. Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home supports the family.
Arlene was born on February 7, 1935 on a farm north of Newkirk, Iowa to Simon R. and Dena (Te Grotenhuis) Menning. She graduated from Newkirk High School in 1952. In November 1953 she married Clarence Blunck. Four children were born of this union, Rodney Lee, Denise Renee, Jeffrey Allen and Paul Wesley. They later got divorced. Arlene was married to Carroll Dale Brown on December 30, 1978 in Giard, Iowa. She worked as a clerk at a dime store in Sheldon, Iowa. In Galveston, Texas, Arlene was secretary to the Superintendent of School Services at UTMB. She worked as a registered nursing assistant for approximately 20 years, first in Fayette County and later for St. Luke’s Home Health Care in Cedar Rapids, until her retirement in November 2006. Arlene always put her family first. In Galveston, Texas, she loved to walk the beaches looking for seashells. She also liked to crochet and after learning how to crochet it became her main occupation to pass the time. Her family, especially her grandchildren, were very important to her. Arlene always had a picture book in her purse and she would pull it out to show people whether they wanted to see it or not. She was a member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids.
Survivors include her 44-year-old husband, Carroll of Marion; a son, Rod (Jan) Blunck by Pella; a daughter, Denise (Rod) Matthews of Dubuque; stepson, David Brown of Cedar Rapids; two sisters-in-law, Regina Fineran and Sharon Brown, both from Northfield, Minnesota; eight grandchildren, Megan (Peter) Boerema of Sioux Falls, SD, Nathan Blunck of Pella, Amy Blunck Olsen of Pella, Ian (Stephanie) Matthews of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Joy (Zach) Byard of Scranton, Pa., Paul Matthews of Chicago, Illinois, Travis (Kimberly) Blunck, currently in the US Army stationed in Hawaii, and Kyle (Breanna) Blunck of Columbus, Neb.; 11 great-grandchildren, Anna, Ashleigh and James Boerema, Adaline Blunck, Betsy and Everett Matthews, Emma Byard, Kaylee and Parker Blunck, and Annabelle and Charlotte Blunck.
Her parents had preceded her in death; in-laws, Dale and Mabel Brown; two sons, Paul Brown and Jeff Blunck; a grandson, Adam Blunck; four brothers, Harold Menning, Virgil Menning, Norman Menning and Marion Menning; and four sisters, Esther Boone, Evelyn Brink, Sylvia Hornsby and Eunice Scholten.
Memorials can be addressed to family. Charitable donations will be determined by the family at a later date.
Online condolences are welcome at www.cedarmemorial.com under Obituaries.
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