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JON ANNE "JONI" BROWN

JON ANNE "JONI" BROWN obituary

JON BROWN Obituary


January 3, 1947 -
March 29, 2019

Jon Anne ("Joni") Brown died March 29th, 2019, in St. Joseph's hospital in Bellingham, WA, of natural causes following pneumonia and respiratory complications (age 72). Her daughters Jenny and Anna were at her side.

Born January 3rd, 1947 in Des Moines, Iowa, to Wilma and Robert Caskey (biological father Joseph Faro, of Scala Coeli, Italy). As the daughter of a naval officer Joni lived in Japan as a young girl, where her younger sister Chrissy was born. Chrissy died of a brain aneurysm on December 6, 2018, while on a cruise with youngest sister, Mikki Martin.

In her youth Joni also lived for a time in Alaska, California, and Washington. Joni was raised a devout Catholic and in her early adulthood studied to become a nun. God, she said, had other plans for her, however, and she left before confirmation.

Joni married Larry Brown, a cabinet maker and craftsman, in the Seattle area around 1966, and together over the next fourteen years they had five children: Philip Allen (deceased 2012), Jenny, Ephraim, Anna, and Jedidiah.

In the mid 1980s, when Joni was almost 40, she went back to school and earned her nursing degree through Skagit Valley Community College (LPN; RN). For many years she worked as a visiting nurse throughout Skagit County, as well as at Island Hospital and a variety of nursing homes.

In 1995, Joni separated from her husband and set out to find her own way. She remarried in 1997, to Kim Etta, a long-time family friend. Though Joni and Kim divorced a few years later, they remained best friends and companions until the end of Joni's life.

A car accident in the early 2000's left Joni partially disabled. Though Joni's depression (which she battled for most of her life) and limited mobility kept her home bound during the last decade of her life, her insatiable curiosity and creative life force never dimmed.

As a life-long student of medicine, spirituality, and the natural world, Joni's passion and intellect kept her seeking answers to the big questions until the day she died. (The book Tibetan Mind Training had just arrived in her mailbox at the time of her death.) Jon Anne had a green thumb and delighted in watching things grow. She found pleasure and peace in gardening. She was interested in crafts of all sorts, including sculpture, weaving and fiber arts, jewelry making, and herbalism.

She had a deep passion for gems and minerals. Jon Anne was an avid reader, and especially loved Stephen King. She cared deeply for animals and was a frequent contributor to animal rights organizations.

Jon Anne is survived by her four children, her two grandchildren Graham Brown and Miranda Cole, and her sweet dog Buddy.

A memorial celebration of Jon Anne's life will be held in her home and garden on Sunday, April 28th from 12:00 noon to 6pm, (317 Haddon Road, Anacortes, WA).

Ashes to be spread at 2:30pm (carpools will begin forming at 1:30 caravan to nearby site).

Gathering and story sharing, barbeque, and ice cream cones to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Pigs Peace Sanctuary in Stanwood, WA.

Joni Brown, there was no one like you and you will be dearly missed.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Skagit Valley Herald from Apr. 12 to Apr. 13, 2019.

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April 12, 2019

We will all miss Joni's happy smiling face my condolences to the family and friends during this difficult time (Psalm 36:9)

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