Elsie Mae Brown

PORTAGE – Elsie Mae Brown, age 78, of Portage, passed away at her home on Saturday, February 17, 2024. Her husband of 46 years, Jerry, was with her to the end.

Elsie was born on May 19, 1945, to Charles R. Thornton and Vera Lois (Hume) Thornton in Endeavor, Wisconsin. After living in Endeavor, West Covina, California, and Portage, Wisconsin as a girl, she graduated from Portage High School in 1963. She married Jerry Brown on July 2, 1977. The couple initially settled in Oxford, Wisconsin before building a home outside Portage in 1984.

Elsie was an avid and vocal sports fan, watching the Packers, Brewers, and Badgers on television and traveling to games and NASCAR events with her family and friends. She was talented with arts and crafts, making many gifts for the people in her life. She also sold her creations for a time in her shop, “That Extra Touch” in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She loved planting and tending flowers around her home. Elsie was an active lady, always on the go, riding her ATV and driving her Mustang fast. A favorite activity was taking rides in her truck with Jerry and their dog, Oliver. She liked country music and good food, and always strived to make everyone else’s birthdays and holidays memorable. A prolific bowler, Elsie was inducted into the Portage Women’s Bowling Hall of Fame in 2004.

Elsie is survived by her husband, Jerry; sons, John (Dawn) Cimaroli, Jeff Brown, Brandon (Shannon) Brown, and Brad Brown; grandchildren, Justin, Matthew, Zack, Jessica, Aerial, Aaron, Braeden, Liam, Lachlan, McKenzie, Hunter, and Savannah; six great-grandchildren; brothers, George (Marge) Thornton and Frank (Chris) Thornton; sister, Judy (Robert) Steffenhagen; and numerous nieces, nephews, and special friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and two infant sisters, Helen and Lois Thornton.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at Pflanz Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage, with her son, Jeff Brown officiating. A private burial service for family will be held at Moundville Cemetery.  Visitation will be from 12:00 noon until 2:00 p.m. on Thursday at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in her name may be made for upkeep of the cemetery at Moundville United Methodist Church.

Pflanz Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage is assisting the family.