Iris Elaine Brown

Iris Elaine Brown, 83, of Anna, and formerly of Ullin, departed her earthly life on May 3, 2022, at Hillview Healthcare Center in Vienna.

Mrs. Brown, known as “Ma” to her family and many others, was a lifelong resident of Southern Illinois, having grown up in Ullin, and graduated from Ullin High School in 1956.

She married her high school sweetheart, Gerald “Jerry” Brown, on Sept. 2, 1956, and together they raised three daughters: Cherry (John) Lindamood, Andrea (Don) Whitthoft and Regina (Craig) Vaughn.

She was known as a seamstress, the owner of her own beauty salon, a faithful church worker and a community supporter. 

She was a tireless booster of her children, and, later, her grandchildren, in their academic endeavors and the careers that followed. 

She was proud of her family and was a mentor to younger beauticians as they began the building of their own clienteles. She gave from her heart.

Mrs. Brown was preceded in death by her parents, Iris and CJ Egner. 

She is survived by her husband, Jerry, now of Anna, and by her children. She took great joy in her grandchildren: Maleita (Kaylie) Lindamood, John Michael (Evee) Lindamood, Nathan (Tabitha) Brown and Jessica (Drew) Kelley, and was blessed with five great-grandchildren: Elijah Lindamood, Bowen Kelley, Elaina Lindamood, Emerson Kelley and Delaney Kelley. She was looking forward to the birth of Theodore Brown later this spring.

She also is survived by her siblings: Deon (Linda) Egner and Bunny (Jack) Wolfe. Her nieces and nephews were cherished as her own.

Funeral services honoring the life of Mrs. Iris Elaine Brown were at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 7, at Maple Grove Baptist Church in Perks. Pete Vinson and Scott Kelly officiated. Interment followed in Cache Chapel Cemetery near Ullin.

Memorials can be made to Maple Grove Baptist Church or to the Cache Chapel Cemetery fund.

Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak was in charge of arrangements.