Joanne Kay Brown

Joanne "Jo" Kay Brown, 84, of Perry, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at Eden Acres Campus of Perry Lutheran Homes in Perry.

Her funeral service will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home, Perry Chapel, with visitation beginning one hour prior at 11:00 a.m. Private family burial will be at Violet Hill Cemetery in Perry. Memorials may be made to the family. Online condolences may be shared at www.caldwellparrish.com.

Jo was born on November 20, 1940, to Forest and Vivian (Borst) Conner at the Dallas County Hospital in Perry, Iowa.

Jo and her parents lived in Iowa City for a short time before moving back to Perry in 1945, where she grew up and attended Perry Schools.

On November 20, 1959, she was united in marriage to Thomas (Gene) Eugene Brown. They were proud parents to their two sons, Douglas and Robert. She took great pride in being Doug and Bob's mother.

When Doug and Bob were younger, she enjoyed being a Den Mother to them in Boy Scouts.

She was a member of the First Christian Church as well as the Moose Lodge, where she and Gene loved to spend Friday nights and weekends dancing. For 10 years, she and Gene had a ceramic shop in Perry; Gene would do all the pouring of the ceramics, and Jo would teach classes and run the shop outside. Jo had a passion for country music, western movies, and sewing. They spent many summers camping, fishing, and cheering on their favorite NASCAR drivers together. She loved doing things as a family and spent many weekends playing card games with their grandkids. Any chance she could get, she took pictures and made sure that everyone had a copy of them.

In 2000, they sold their house in Perry and moved to Rippey to be closer to their son Bob and his family. They also bought a trailer at Lake of the Woods and loved spending the summers up there with their son Doug and his family.

Left to cherish Jo's memory are her son, Doug (Kim) Brown; daughter-in-law, Roxanne Brown; grandchildren, Shawn (Jon) Allen, Tanner Brown, and Shannon (Derrick) Olson; great-grandchildren, Ava, Asher, and Axton Allen, BayLeigh Lucek, Madison, Maycee and Bryce Olson; great-great-grandchildren, Everly, Oliver, and Hudson; brother, Leroy (Cheryl) Conner; as well as many other nieces, nephews, and family members.

Jo was preceded in death by her loving husband, Thomas (Gene) Brown; parents, Forest and Vivian Conner; son, Robert (Bob) Brown; granddaughter, Amber Stump; brothers, Robert and Gary Conner; and friend, Dale Luckinbill.