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Robert George “Bob” Brown, 72, of Thayer, died Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, at the Clearview Home in Mount Ayr. The family has chosen cremation following donation of his brain to Alzheimer’s research. A Celebration of Life will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 at the Three Mile Lodge near Afton.
Memorials to be directed to the family for a fitting tribute at Three Mile Lake. Online condolences may be offered at powersfh.com.
Bob was born March 11, 1951, the son of Robert R. and Dorothy E. (Finger) Brown, in San Francisco, California. When Bob was 4 years old, the Brown family returned to Iowa where he made many lifelong friends while living in several areas of Union County, including Creston, Kent, Cromwell, Arispe and Thayer. He graduated from East Union High School in 1969 and continued his education at Simpson College while playing football on scholarship.
He met the love of his life, Beverly Hoyt, the week before graduating with his bachelor’s degree in 1973. Bob and Beverly were married June 28, 1975, at the Stone Church in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. The couple began their life together in Grand River, where Bob constructed and operated a three-county landfill, and Bev taught at Grand Valley School in Kellerton. Bob worked on the farm near Thayer with his dad in the evenings and on weekends. They were blessed with three children: Sarah Mae, Rebecca Joyce and Matthew Robert. In 1981, Bob and Bev moved the family to the farm near Thayer.
Bob never knew a stranger and introduced hundreds of people to his farm over the years, proudly stating, “Welcome to Mount Pisgah, the most beautiful place on earth. Here we raise crops, cattle and kids; kids being the most important. I have three wonderful children and the world’s best grandchildren. I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world.”
Bob was elected as a Union County supervisor in 1984 and dedicated his career to the betterment of Union County and the people who live here. His philosophy was “to be a good neighbor, treat people with kindness and respect and provide them the support they need to be good neighbors themselves”.
Over the course of his 28 years as a supervisor, Bob served on numerous boards including Innovative Industries, SIRF and RC&D, where he contributed to countless projects including the E911 roll-out, a regional rural water system, land conservation efforts, community housing resources and many road and bridge improvements. He was particularly proud to serve as chairman of the Three Mile Lake project, where he brought many entities together to build a lake for Union County. Ultimately, Three-Mile Lake provides an abundance of water for agriculture and industry, as well as promoting tourism and economic development in Union County and the surrounding area. A tour of the lake was a highlight for all who visited the family over the years.
In 1995, as the Mormon Church prepared for the sesquicentennial reenactment of their Westward migration, an archaeologist visited the family farm and worked with Bob to expand upon the existing information regarding Mount Pisgah, the large Mormon settlement primarily located on the farm. These efforts sparked a life-long hobby for Bob, who subsequently spent many hours researching the Mormon Trail through Iowa, reading journals of the saints who passed through Mount Pisgah and sharing his passion for this history and witching wires with hundreds of school children and busloads of Mormon history-seekers. He even had a custom-made “people trailer” built so he could lead large groups through the sites on the farm.
Despite his busy farming and public service schedules, Bob found time to cheer on the kids and grandkids in all manner of school events, including sports, music, dance and drama. He also made time for good ol’ farm fun by building a waterslide into the family swimming pond, taking the kids fishing, finding the best mushroom spots and plowing snow for sledding. Bob was invested in making happy memories with his family dinners at Knotty Pine, roller skating nights, roller coaster rides and finding hotels with swimming pools on family trips.
He could build or fix anything. His greatest joys in later years were helping his adult kids with house projects. He loved attending Matt’s Grinnell College basketball games. He was so proud of his children and their accomplishments.
He helped with many Methodist Church fundraisers and other community events, including the Grand River and Lorimor centennial celebrations and the Afton Lions Club pre-4th celebrations, which found him roasting whole hogs in his homemade hog-cooker. He dedicated time to 4-H, both as a leader and by helping his own kids prepare for the county fair each year.
Bob is survived by his wife of 48 years, Beverly Brown of Thayer; his children: Sarah Brown (Erik Niggemeyer) of Thayer, Rebecca (Matt) Sheridan of Winterset and Matthew (Erika) Brown of Winterset; his cherished grandchildren: Owen and Aubrey Sheridan, Genevieve Niggemeyer and Dexter Brown; his sister, Diana “Cricket” Gibson of Lorimor, brother-in-law, Bill (Barb) Hoyt of Nebraska and sisters-in-law: Deanna (Stan) Zandarski of Nevada, Loree Hoyt Neiman of Texas, and Elizabeth Hoyt of Nebraska, along with several nieces and nephews. He will also be missed by other family members and lots of friends, including special cousins, Lois (Bob) Rogan and Millie (Dave) Hunter.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Robert R. and Dorothy Brown; parents-in-law, Cloyd and Lola Hoyt; brother, Rodney “Buck” Brown and brothers-in-law, Rick Gibson, Elray Neiman and Robert Hoyt.