Martha Ann "Ann" (Heerten) Brown
Obituaries
Daily Sentinel page 5A - April 1, 2020
ember 9, 1945 - March 28, 2020
Martha Ann (Heerten) Brown,
75, of Grand Junction, passed
away peacefully on March 28,
2020, with her husband at her
side, after more than a decade of
battling cancer.
Known to all as Ann, she
was born November 9, 1945, in
Birmingham, Alabama, to Louis
and Martha (Davis) Heerten. The oldest of five children, she was
raised in the tumultuous era of social justice in the south. Ann was
one of many generations of the family to be members of Blessed
Sacrament Church (Roman Catholic) in Birmingham, where she
was baptized and married.
Ann and her father spent many hours together relaying messages
via HAM radio, first to scientists “wintered over” in the Antarctic,
then to US military personnel connecting them to their loved ones
at home. This is how she came to meet her husband of 50 years,
Michael Tober Brown, while he served in the United States Navy as
a photographer. They married on November 18, 1969.
After many years of Navy life, one son and two daughters,
and homes in Alabama, Mississippi, Maryland, and Washington,
DC, the family settled in the state of Washington. They had one
additional daughter and Ann built a successful career in medical
records working at state facilities. She retired from the Washington
State Soldiers Home & Colony in Orting, Washington in 2007. She
was incredibly proud of the work she did, helping to care for our
country’s heroes in their final years.
Ann was a generous volunteer, most notably for the RescueOne (R-1) Volunteer Search and Rescue Squad of Enumclaw,
Washington; contributing to the safety and survival of many lives
across the forested areas of western Washington through the 1980s.
This required hours of training in rescue techniques and life-saving
skills. She and her husband also gave many hours to the Enumclaw
High School Marching Band Boosters as all four of their children
were heavily involved in the music program.
After retirement, Ann and Mike relocated to Grand Junction,
Colorado. She was a passionate sewer, carefully crafting project
after project for her friends and family. Her legacy and love for her
family will live on through these treasures that sit in households
across the country. Never losing her interest in HAM radio, she and
Mike were life-long amateur radio operators.
She is survived by husband, Mike Brown, of Grand Junction, and
children, Charles (Ann) Fairfax, VA; Catherine Neville (Shawn) of
Dix Hills, New York; Lizz Holm (John) of Leadville, Colorado,
and Jen Baldwin (Jeff) of Fort Collins, Colorado; grandchildren,
Abby, Hannah, Morgan, Gabe, Sidra, Kiernan, Van, and Charlotte;
siblings, Louis “Buddy” (Beth), Mary Alice, John (Annette), and
Edward (Patricia), all of Alabama; and several nieces and nephews.
She is predeceased by her parents, Louis and Martha Heerten of
Alabama.
She will always be remembered as a warrior and a survivor, one
of the toughest ladies we’ve ever known.
Ann’s family extends their sincere gratitude to the medical staff
at St. Mary’s Medical Center and HopeWest Hospice, both of Grand
Junction, for their combined years of loving and compassionate
care during her medical battles. The family requests donations in
lieu of flowers be sent to HopeWest Hospice.
Due to the current covid_19 pandemic, th
