Anna Lou (Heth) Brown, age 99 and four months, left this earth for her Heavenly Home from Gove County Medical Center’s Long Term Care Unit, Quinter, KS on April 20, 2023. She had lived in the Independent Living Facility the past 5 ½ years in Quinter, moving there from her home in Mullinville, Kansas. She and her husband taught school and resided there together from 1955 until his death the summer following their 70th wedding anniversary in Jan. of 2014.
Born on Dec. 13, 1923, Anna’s education was fast tracked as she began 1st grade at age 5 and was moved up to 2nd grade after 1 week. She had learned all the first-grade material the year before going through her older brother’s papers! Anna was a 16-year-old graduate of Williamsburg High School in 1940, going on to attend Emporia State University, majoring in business with a minor in English. While at college she worked as a secretary in offices on campus and in a local attorney’s office.
Anna married Lt. Ralph Brown on Jan. 22, 1944, in Florida where he was stationed and then Mississippi before he was sent overseas to the European Theater. She went back to college in the fall of 1944 intending to complete her bachelor’s degree that semester but ended up teaching business courses instead on a provisional certificate back in Williamsburg when a teacher failed to appear for the year. Ralph was discharged from the service in the fall of 1945 and they moved to Topeka where he attended college and Anne worked for the KS. Bankers Assoc. Deciding to complete her degree, Anna commuted to Emporia to finish the 14 hours needed to graduate in 1947 at the same time as Ralph. They both then taught 3 yrs. in Haviland and 1 yr. in Ensign before moving to Garden City to begin their family with Anna taking a break from teaching.
Kathy and Dennis were born in Garden City before the move to Mullinville in 1955. Alan joined the family in 1957 and once he was in 1st grade Anna decided to go back to school at Hays. There she earned a Master’s degree in Speech in 1965 which allowed her to work in a special education co-op in Kiowa and Comanche counties as an itinerant specialist, teaching children with speech language and hearing impairments. Anna holds the distinction of having taken Speech/Language/Hearing summer workshops in all of the Kansas colleges and universities. She retired from teaching in 1985 to travel with her husband on several cruises and used their small motor home to become winter Texans, making summer trips to the mountains of Colorado plus visiting family in several states and do some “kid keeping” of grandchildren.
Anna enjoyed crafts, gardening, cooking, reading and watching TV. Family was very important to her as she recently spent many hours watching the uploads on a screen of all her grandchildren, trying to keep track of who belonged to who! She was a member of the Mullinville United Methodist Church, Quinter United Women in Faith, Delta Kappa Gamma Society and NEA.
Survivors include three children, Kathy (Ron) Koehn of Quinter, KS, Dennis (Sue) Brown of Plattsmouth, NE and Alan (Tamara) Brown of Ingram, TX; eleven grandchildren Dean (Chelsey) Koehn, Lynn (Tiffany) Koehn, Renee (James) Thomas, Chelsey (Doug) Evans, Dustin (Courtney) Brown, Ryan (Anna) Brown, Lauren (Joseph) Chevalier, Tyler Brown, Nolan Brown, Chris Brown and Derek Brown; providing her with sixteen great-grandchildren; and one great-great-granddaughter. She also has two step-grandsons, Chris Briggs of Courtland, NE and Jamie (Trisha) Briggs of Lincoln, NE., and five step-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Brown, parents, Irwin Heth and Faye Hall and stepfather, Walter Hall, infant sister, Patty Heth and brothers, Warren and Gene Heth.
A celebration of her life will be held on May 6, 2023, at the Quinter United Methodist Church, Quinter, Kansas at 11:00 a.m. Graveside services will follow at 4:30 p.m. at the Hillcrest Cemetery in Mullinville, Kansas.
The family suggests memorials to the Quinter United Methodist Church or the Mullinville United Methodist Church both in care of Minnis Mortuary, 1901 N 14 Ave., Dodge City, Kansas 67801.