Dorothy Brown

DOROTHY BROWN

Cedar Rapids

Dorothy Lou Brown, 98, of Cedar Rapids, died Friday, July 18, 2014, at St. Luke's Hospital. A funeral service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 22, at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home. The family will greet friends from 5 until 7 Monday evening at the funeral home. Interment will take place at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

Dorothy was born Oct. 20, 1915, in Clinton, Iowa, to George and Clara (Barta) Hobel. After graduating from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, she worked as a floral designer at the Hobel family's Little Flower Shop, also in Cedar Rapids. After the flower shop closed in the early 1960s, she worked seasonally at local floral shops. She later worked as a receptionist at Collins and retired from the Linn County Veterans Affairs Office.

Dorothy was a past president of the Cedar Rapids American Legion Auxiliary. She was a current member of the Marion American Legion Auxiliary and the Cedar Rapids VFW. She was a member of the P3 Wilson Retirees and started the bingo program there.

Dorothy never lost her touch for floral design; even after her retirement, she loved to create floral arrangements for the Marion American Legion's many events and fish fry dinners.

She is survived by two daughters, Sandra (Ronald) Umsted of Mesa, Ariz., and Sharon (David) Harris of Cedar Rapids; three grandchildren, Kristi (Gary) Selker of Holly Springs, N.C., Kerry (Teri) Umsted of Chandler, Ariz., and Darcie (Mauro) Torres of Marion; four great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; and a beloved granddog, Mocha.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Leo Heaton, in 1965; and husband, Raymond W. Brown, in 1981.

Memorial contributions in Dorothy's memory may be directed to the family.

Online condolences may be submitted at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.