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Naomi and her husband lived in Hammond,
Ind., El Segundo, Calif., and Tustin, Calif., before
retiring in Lincoln in 1990. Before retirement,
Naomi managed a large apartment complex for 12 years
while in California.
She was born Oct. 31, 1923, in Palestine, Ill.,
to Joseph and Alice Biggs Brimberry. She married
Irven Floyd Brown on Sept. 12, 1942, in Mattoon.
They had been married nearly 50 years when he died
in August 1992.
She is survived by their three daughters and
their spouses, Aliceann (and Phil) Muller of Falls
Church, Va., Elaine (and Larry) Woolard of Lincoln
and Katherine (and Jim) Keslin of Crown Point, Ind.;
her grandchildren and their spouses, Rachel (and
Tim) Marten of Lincoln, Tim (and Janell) Woolard of
Hartsburg and Sarah (and Rob) Peterson of Crown
Point, Ind.; and six great-grandchildren, Emma and
Kyra, Dustin and Allison, Kyle and Kelsey.
She was also preceded in death by her parents and
four sisters.
She attended Jefferson Street Christian Church.
After retirement from full-time work, Naomi made
a difference by working with the elderly in the
Foster Grandparent program and by volunteering at
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.
She graduated from Palestine High School, where
she participated in basketball, field hockey,
playing the bass drum in the marching band,
developed beautiful penmanship through her writing
classes and was elected to the National Honor
Society.
She had a beautiful singing voice and
particularly loved vocal music, especially the
classical and sacred genres. She loved to sing
hymns. She instilled this love of music in her three
daughters, who each have found their own way of
pursing vocal music in adult life.
In honor of Naomi, a scholarship fund in her name
was established in 2004, enabling talented high
school students to participate in a semiprofessional
classical chorus.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to
Jefferson Street Christian Church, The Christian
Village or the Alzheimer's Foundation. |
