Juanita Brown

Anchorage and Big Lake resident Juanita Tressler Brown, 79, died March 22, 2010, at her home surrounded by family.

A burial for Mrs. Brown will be held at 2 p.m. June 9 at Angelus Memorial Park, 440 E. Klatt Road, in Anchorage, where Juanita will be laid to rest next to her father and stepmother. A celebration of life will be held immediately afterward at 8819 Sahalee Drive in Anchorage.

A private family Mass was held on March 26, officiated by Father Dan Hebert of Holy Cross Parish, at the Brown residence.

Mrs. Brown was born Nov. 7, 1930, in Shamokin, Pa., to Irvin L. Tressler and Ruth Irene Reed Tressler. She grew up in a farmhouse with no electricity, phone, running water or indoor plumbing. She and her brother, Charles, had to walk two miles to a one-room schoolhouse. Mrs. Brown's mother died when she was 8 years old. She and her brother were raised by her grandparents, Isaiah and Ada Reed, after her father went into the service. During the war, she would get up at 4 a.m. and help her brother pick up milk from the farmers before going to school.

Mrs. Brown graduated from Trevorton High School in 1948. She, her brother and his friend drove a new truck from Pennsylvania to Seattle; then traveled by steamship "The Denali" to Seward. In Seward she joined her father, Irvin, and stepmother, Orpha. The Tresslers purchased the Kenai Lumber Co. shortly after the war. Mrs. Brown remained in Seward until her grandfather passed away in Pennsylvania, and she returned to care for her grandmother.

She went to work for Pennsylvania Threshermen Insurance Co., where she met her husband-to-be, Gregory A. Brown.

After Gregory asked for her hand in marriage for the fifth time, she finally accepted. They were married on Oct. 14, 1950 in Harrisburg, Pa. They had two sons, Gregory and David. They moved to Anchorage in July of 1964. Two years later, Mrs. Brown began her career in the insurance industry as a producer's assistant with LaBow Haynes Insurance Co. Later she obtained her agent's license and ultimately her broker's license while working for Rollins, Burdick & Hunter, Frank B. Hall, and then Ribelin Lowell Insurance.

Mrs. Brown was one of the first female insurance brokers in Alaska. She was the president of Anchorage Toastmasters and also president of Anchorage Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association. She was also a member of the Women's Insurance Association. Mrs. Brown was a true professional in the insurance industry. She was very highly respected by her colleagues and her clients.

After nearly 25 years in the insurance industry, Mrs. Brown retired. She enjoyed traveling with her husband and family on cruises. She also enjoyed gardening and spending time with her family and friends in Big Lake.

Her family wrote: "She was a person of integrity and honor. The values that she taught her children and grandchildren are cherished by her family. Our 'Sis' will be deeply missed and her memory will live in our hearts forever."

Mrs. Brown is survived by her best friend and husband of 59 years, Greg Brown; sons and daughters-in-law, Gregory and Wanda Brown and David Brown and Susan Crowder; brother, Charles Tressler and wife Wanda of Grants Pass, Ore.; sister, Janie Thomas and husband Jon Levy of Eugene, Ore.; grandchildren, Thomas and Michelle, Dustin, Jessica and Martin, Joshua, Tyler and Maegan, and Taylor; great-grandchildren, Nathalie, Genevieve, Quentin, Karter and Matthew; sister-in-law, Nathalie Brown of Hummelstown, Pa.; aunt, Betty Marquette of Trevorton, Pa.; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and dear friends in Big Lake.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Providence Hospice Care.