Elaine M. Brown, 101, passed away Saturday, July 26, 2025, at Riverbend Retirement Community in Cascade, Iowa. She was born December 11, 1923 to Francis and Margaret (Clancy) McDermott on their farm near Cascade. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 30 at Reiff Funeral Home, Farley, Iowa, where a prayer service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Visitation will also be held after 9 a.m. on Thursday at the funeral home.

A mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Church, Farley with Rev. Steven Gardner officiating. Burial will be held at St. John's Cemetery in Placid, Iowa.

In 1940 Elaine graduated from St. Joseph's High School at age 16 and received her teaching certificate from the University of Dubuque that same year. At 18 she began her long career in elementary education, teaching full-time in country schools and then substituting until retiring in her 80s. In June 1950 she married Loras Brown at St. Joseph's Church in Farley (they marked their 40th anniversary days before his passing in 1990). Together they raised eight children on their Farley farm, where she lived until moving to Riverbend in 2018. She enjoyed sewing (especially quilts), cooking and baking, playing cards, bowling, the occasional Bingo or casino outing, and travel (including to ancestral Ireland).

She served many organizations over the years, including St. Joseph's Altar and Rosary Society, Catholic Daughters of the Americas, the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women (ACCW), Dubuque Co. Farm Bureau Women, and the Visiting Nurse pediatric vaccination program and was a member of the Women's Bowling Assoc. Her 2016 book Memoir of an Iowa Girl highlights her love of family and features many stories from her long, rich life.

Elaine is survived by: her children, Patricia (Robert) Greene of Marion, Lee (Marie) Brown of Peoria, Arizona, Tom (Nancy) Brown of Liberty, Missouri, Paul (Jill) Brown of Farley, Bonnie Brown (Stuart Wells) of Morgantown, West Virginia, Philip (Becky) Brown of Farley, and Ted Brown of Farley; sisters, Sr. Jeanette McDermott, MMS, Ramona Thomas, Marlene (Dan) Reid, and Gail Dolphin; sister-in-law, Jean McDermott; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Loras, and their son Alan, grandson Thomas Greene, great-grandson Nicholas Greene, her brothers Francis (Frank) and Tom McDermott, sister Margie McAllister, and numerous in-laws.

In lieu of flowers, an Elaine Brown Memorial Fund has been established. Memorials may be sent to Reiff Funeral Home, P.O. Box 99, Farley, IA 52046.

The family is grateful for the compassionate, thoughtful care extended to Elaine by the wonderful staff of Riverbend Retirement Community.