Joanne Sara Brown

Joanne Sara (Pepper) Brown, 82, of Midland, died in the comfort of her home on Sunday, May 22, 2011, after a lengthy illness. The daughter of the late John O. and Lenna Mae (Lafler) Pepper was born on March 21, 1927 in Easley, South Carolina and was raised in State College, PA. Joanne was a graduate of Penn State University with a BS in Biology. On April 14, 1949 she married Frederick L. Brown in State College, PA and they moved to Midland in 1953. Dr. Brown preceded her in death in 2007. Joanne was a long time and active member of the First United Methodist Church where she taught Sunday school and played the piano. She was a 4-H Leader for many years and enjoyed the out-of - doors, especially bird watching, picking wild flowers and flower gardening. She also loved traveling and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Mrs. Brown is survived by her son, Fred (Pamela) Brown of Ladenburg, PA; daughters, Janice (Michael) London of Massillon, OH, Deborah (Robert) Disbro of Eaton Rapids, MI and Carolyn (Christian) Gurney of Des Moines, Iowa. She will also be missed by her seven grandchildren.

In accordance with Joanne's wishes, cremation services have been arranged thru the Wilson MILLER Funeral Home with scattering of the cremains in the Schrader Memorial Gardens at the First United Methodist Church.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, May 29th at 2:00 at the First United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends one hour before the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be offered to Heartland Hospice, 1426 Straits Dr., Bay City, MI 48706.

The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to Holly Bluemer, Heartland Hospice, Julie, Melba and Sandy as her special caregivers. They allowed Joanne to enjoy the birds, flowers and wildlife from her home until her death.