Jeanne Brown

Jeanne Pearl (Nelson) Brown, 91, lifelong resident of Idaho County, passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Clearwater, Idaho on February 18, 2024. She was born January 31, 1933, in Grangeville, Idaho, to Lee and Iowa (Harvey) Nelson; the second of their five children. Jeanne was generous, selfless, loving, sweet, and tough as nails. She grew up on the family ranch at The Cove outside Kooskia, Idaho, riding horseback the 5 miles to the Big Cedar School house and later attending the Red Fir School house where she graduated from 8th grade. She loved picnicking at "The Lake" with her Grandpa Harvey and her cousin/best friend Joy Lycan. She and Joy spent summers together jumping rope and riding horses and helping Grandpa Harvey by pulling logs horseback to the landing for him. While still at home, she shot her first elk at 12 years old and spoke of milking 100 goats daily and packing the cream can via horseback several miles to the mailbox to meet the mailman, who would take it on to the train depot in Kooskia for final delivery to the creamery.

She and Ralph Brown were married March 23, 1951, at the courthouse in Grangeville, Idaho. During their 59 years of marriage, they spent their time going on family campouts (FYI-flat rocks work great as plates for pancakes when the real ones are forgotten), fishing in the backcountry lakes, going huckleberry picking, gathering rocks for home projects, and building three log homes for themselves and several for others. Jeanne was a member of the Big Cedar Homemakers, and she and Ralph were part of the Mountain Dewers Square Dancers, and Back Country Horsemen.

She was a homemaker, but also traveled throughout Idaho, Washington, and Oregon marking fish at state and federal hatcheries, worked in the USFS Seniors Program in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, and did contract janitorial for the USFS offices in Kooskia and Kamiah.

She loved horses and had a special fondness for her first horse, Nugget. She would spend hours working around her yard caring for her plants and flowers. She loved watching the wild birds come to her feeders and especially loved hummingbirds. She always raised a garden and had a small orchard. Her canned jellies and jams, amazing bread and rolls, pies, cakes, and cookies brought smiles to everyone who tasted them. She hated to be idle, and any inside time was spent darning, mending, knitting, crocheting, and quilting. Her greatest joy was her family and the crocheted blankets and quilts made to celebrate graduations, weddings, and new babies demonstrated that. Each one lovingly planned and made by her hands specifically for that person.

Holiday dinners with a house full were her favorite, but every visit was special to her. Her joyful "Hellooo" when someone came through the door, she met them at the gate, or answered their phone call and her visit closure of "It is ALWAYS so good to see you/hear your voice" and "Come back/Call back soon" made everyone feel that extraordinary love she carried for each of them. That love will be the part most missed, but held close in her family's hearts, knowing that she is at peace, re-united with her husband, parents, daughter-in-law Traci (Eckel) Brown, grandson Jack Miller, and great-grandson Michael Brown and still watching over her surviving 7 children: Pearl (Chuck) Brackett, Wendell (MariAnn) Brown, Judy (John) Meadows, Steve (Jody) Brown, Carrie (Jack) Miller, Andy (Sherry) Brown, and Dave Brown, 17 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren, and 9 (with one more on the way) great-great-grandchildren.

Saturday Feb. 24th, 10 am-11 am there will be a visitation at Trenary Funeral Home, with a graveside service at noon at Tahoe Cemetery, Kooskia, Idaho.