Lois "Penny" Priscilla Brown

Lois Priscilla "Penny" (Schrag) Hancock Brown was born August 4, 1930, in Noble, Iowa, to the Rev. Henry and Agnes (Willier) Schrag and died Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home in Waterloo.  She graduated from Beloit High School in Wisconsin with the Class of 1948, Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, in 1952, and from St. Joseph's School of Medical Technology, Bloomington, Illinois, later in 1952.  On August 23, 1952, she married James B. Hancock in Normal, Illinois.  He died at the age of 33 on January 9, 1963.  On June 16, 1974, she married Edward J. Brown.  He died August 6, 2018.

Penny worked as a Medical Technologist in Verdun, France as a Department of the U.S. Army Civilian; at Methodist Hospital in Des Moines; St. Francis and Allen Hospitals in Waterloo and Sartori Hospital in Cedar Falls, including 19 years as the Medical Laboratory Supervisor.

Penny was a lifelong member and past President of Chapter FV of PEO and a member of the 19th Century Club.  She enjoyed spending special time with her family, reading, her book club, walking her dogs and writing frequent letters to the editor in the Des Moines Register.  She volunteered and mentored in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Schools, the Book Nook and the Red Cross.  She was very active in Presbyterian Churches and served as president for Church Women United.

Penny was preceded in death by two husbands, James B. Hancock and Edward J. Brown; a son, Ken Brown; a daughter-in-law, Cyndi Brown; 2 sons-in-law, Dave Perry and Tom Weinzierl; and a granddaughter, Carrie Hancock.  She is survived by 6 children: Terry Hancock of California, James (Kim) Hancock of Cedar Falls, Dan E. (Jan) Brown of Cedar Falls, Susan Perry of Waverly, Ed (Penni) Hancock of North Carolina; Jeanne Weinzierl of Machesney Park, Illinois; a daughter-in-law, Patti (Ron) Noyes of Plymouth, Minnesota; 21 grandchildren; and 30 great-grandchildren.

Penny's Memorial Service will be at 10:30 am on Monday, September 16, 2024, with an hour of Visitation prior at the Diamond Event Center at Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls. She donated her body to the University of Iowa Hospital for Research, inurnment will be later at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Des Moines.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts to the Cedar Bend Humane Society, Self Help, Heifer International or Western Home Communities.