Obituary of Beverly Joanne Brown

Beverly Joanne Brown, age 86, Minneapolis, Minnesota; passed away peacefully at Lakehouse Health Center, on August 16, 2023.

Beverly was born in Northwood, North Dakota on August 18, 1936 to her loving parents, the late Olav and Alice Askviken.

She graduated from Northwood High School in 1954 and attended Jamestown College for two years. She graduated from nursing school in 1957.

Beverly is survived by her six children: Laurie (Scott) Nielsen of Harwood, North Dakota; David (Viky) White of Chamois, Missouri; Claudia (Jay) Kroeze of Biglerville, Pennsylvania; Dawn (Allen) Lilienthal of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Carl (Lori) Quam of Tolna, North Dakota and Ruth (Tim) Webb of Bemidji, Minnesota. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, one brother and two sisters.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Brown, her parents and her sister Emily.

Beverly grew up in Northwood and would often recount many stories of her happy childhood, including working at the local movie theater from age 13-18. She was an avid movie buff and would often tell of seeing many of the great movies on the “big screen”.

She worked as a nurse at the Jamestown State Hospital and at the Northwood Hospital in her younger years.

Beverly instilled and fostered the love of reading and education in her children. She was a strong advocate of education and served on the local PTA as well as serving as Vice President of the North Dakota PTA.

She was a dedicated member of Sigdal Lutheran Church, rural Tolna, for many years. There Beverly served as President of the Sunday School and President of the ladies aid. She was instrumental in organizing the Centennial Celebration of the church.

In addition, she was a Census Bureau Enumerator for the 1980 United States Census.

Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were her pride and joy and she loved to spend time with them. She will be remembered as an amazing cook, a hard worker, and someone that was always ready to lend an ear to family or friends.

There will be no public service. A private celebration of life will be held at the discretion of the family, at a later date.