Brown, Pat

Pat Brown died in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 6, 2011, after a long bout with happiness and fulfillment.

She was born Patricia Josephine Craemer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on April 3, 1929, to Nicholas and Florentine Craemer, and had two sisters, Pamela Gearhart and Cynthia Zievers, both deceased.

Mrs. Brown attended Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids, Clarke College in Dubuque and Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She traveled in Europe and worked at her father's department store in Cedar Rapids before marrying Des Moines native Philip Ankeny Brown on July 7, 1956, in Cedar Rapids. They settled in Des Moines, where Mr. Brown had business interests. She and her husband raised four children: Philip Craemer (Christina) Brown of London, England, Peter Ankeny (Lisa) Brown of Des Moines, Pamela Florentine (Kevin) Gordon of Nashville, Tenn., and Susan Hilary (Arthur Orduña) Brown of New York, N.Y.; and have seven grandchildren, Philip Miles Orduña, Eliza Carlota Orduña, Emma Louise Brown, Parker Ankeny Brown, Evan Brown Gordon, Nicholas Strupinski Brown and Charlotte Josephine Gordon.

As a girl, she spent summers at Cheley Camp in Estes Park, Colo., and continued to enjoy the mountain life there and in the American Southwest. While raising her family in Des Moines, Mrs. Brown was a volunteer for Planned Parenthood. After her husband retired they spent many years living in Okoboji, Iowa, making many more friends and enjoying family vacations together.

She was known for her love of entertaining, her generous nature and her irreverent wit.

Mrs. Brown and her family would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the first floor staff of Wesley Acres Health Center and Wesley Life Hospice. Their care and compassion will always be remembered.

No services are planned.

Memorial contributions may be made to the John Austin Cheley Foundation or Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.