Ann Marie Brown

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, August 14, 2025 at Resurrection Catholic Church, Eveleth. Celebrant will be Fr. Charles Flynn. Visitation will be one hour before at the church. Burial in Eveleth Cemetery will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the American Heart Association, the World Wildlife Fund or Resurrection Catholic Church.
Ann was born in Eveleth on October 29, 1926. She was the youngest of 5 girls born to Gaetenina and Pasquale Fattore. She adored and admired older sisters Antoinette, Celia, Julia, and Ida who set fine examples and were cherished friends, there to support her in all things.
They lived on Norman Avenue in Eveleth. She was baptized at Immaculate Conception where she also had her First Communion and Confirmation. She graduated from Eveleth High School in 1944, and then attended Eveleth Junior College. She was a cheerleader for the Eveleth Golden Bears, and also taught skating at the Rec Department. She was a member of the Latin Club, and was helped by her parents who spoke Italian. She and all four sisters presented their final Latin composition, concluding with their translation of the Ave Maria.
After her father's passing in the summer of her 16th year, Ann traveled by boat and car to Long Island, New York with her sister Julia. While there, she saw Frank Sinatra and Duke Ellington at a nightclub in New York City, cigarette in hand. The sisters were both employed crafting jewelry boxes for a fine jewelry store.
Ann married Tom Marwick of Virginia, and they lived first on Norman Avenue in Eveleth and then in Midway with their infant son Gary. Tom Marwick passed from Polio very young, leaving Ann to care for her 2-month-old son with the strong support of her older sisters and their mother.
Six years later on September 2, 1950, Ann and Donald Brown of Eveleth were married at the Immaculate Conception church. It would have been Ann and Don's 75th wedding anniversary this September! Ann and Don had 3 children; Perry, Georgia and Donnie.
Ann managed their home, raising their 4 children, while Don worked Construction as a Union IBEW 294 Electrician on iron ore processing and taconite plants. Work took him throughout the Midwest, as well as Greenland, Chicago and the East Coast. In 1957, Ann and Don moved to Ely Lake where all 6 lived in a one room log cabin and later in their newly built home overlooking the lake, still Don's home today.
Ann and Don were very social. They were not only avid curlers but skips on their respective teams at the original Eveleth Curling Club. Sometimes the children were lucky enough to go along to watch, and to throw an occasional rock. Ann's Bridge Club included dear friends Mary Lou Vito, Jeannette Marasco, and Helen Mrkonjich, who relished each other's company and the keen competition.
Ann loved flower gardening where she frequently won awards at the Fayal Garden Club for her beautiful Dahlias and Roses! Bird Watching was another lifelong hobby of Ann's. You would find her outside with binoculars around her neck, identifying birds by their colors and songs and keeping meticulous records of her sightings. Her wild blueberry, raspberry and strawberry search, kept her busy picking, cleaning and passionately creating her heavenly jams, jellies and pies.
An avid reader, Ann preferred the classics and nonfiction, especially nature and history genres and the National Geographic Magazine. Her love of music was shared by all the Fattore sisters, as they practiced together and polished their recital pieces on violin and piano. Pavarotti's concert at the Excel Center and many operas were musical highlights. Her delightful ability to play by ear and by sight was a gift that she shared and that all enjoyed. She shared her fond memories of playing Parade of the Wooden Soldiers as her elementary classmates at the Fayal School marched in each morning for assembly. Her favorites - The Radetsky March and 76 Trombones - kept her own children and grandkids marching as she passed along her great enthusiasm for music. As a young woman, Ann worked at Wiitamaki's Jewelry store, which she loved, and later in life became Ward Secretary for the Virginia Municipal Hospital.
Ann and Don traveled together across the country from east coast to west, visiting family and enjoying national parks and all things historic. In 2002 the family traveled to Italy, to visit her family's home and cousins in L'Aquila. They also toured Venice, San Marino and other major cities including Rome, where she visited the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. While in Riccione, she cheered on Don and her sons as they competed in the Masters World Swimming Championship.
Ann was a formidable matriarch. She modeled her strong Catholic faith, leading by example, prioritizing the sacraments and attending Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation together as a family.
She loved to cook for her family. She prepared great dishes of all cuisines, not only her ravioli and lasagna specialties. She also eagerly prepared wild game bagged by her family, which Don especially loved. Throughout the years she enthusiastically attended hockey, swimming, basketball and football games in support of her children, grandchildren, and their teammates. The ever-growing repertoires of her Suzuki-playing grandchildren and great-grandchild filled her with pride and joy.
Ann's health slowly declined over the last 6 months. She passed away peacefully at home on August 7, 2025 with family by her side.
Ann was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters and their spouses, and her first husband.
She is survived by her husband, Don Brown, World War II US Navy Veteran; her children Gary (Mary) Marwick in Camarillo, California, Perry Brown of Ely Lake, Georgia (Gary) Brown Epp of Ely Lake, and Donnie (Darcy) Brown of Rockford; her grandchildren Nicholas (Terra) Epp, Annie (Jeremy) Sandnas, Maxwel (Ashley) Brown, Celia Brown, and Teagan Brown; great-grandchildren Norah and Adrian Sandnas, Ella and Arlo Epp, and Josephine Brown; treasured nieces and nephews, and extended family.