Robert "Bob" Brown

Robert “Bob” Brown, 78, of Rockford, passed away on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, at Rockford Memorial Hospital after a short illness. Bob was born in Rockford on August 11, 1937; to parents, Bernard and Elizabeth (Orr) Brown. He married Karen Fry on October 26, 1963. Graduated from West High School, class of 1956. Employed as a machinist for 39 years at Woodward, Inc. in Loves Park, Illinois. Bob served in the US Army Reserves and was a former member of the East Rockford Pigeon Club as well as a sixty-year member of Court Street United Methodist Church. Gardening was his passion and he proudly developed gardens that where seen on the 2005 Klehm Arboretum Garden Glory Walk. Over the years, beautiful vegetables and flowers were grown on the acreage where he built his home on river front property that was part of his grandfather, George W. Brown’s farm. He was always open to inviting visitors from the bike path into his yard for a tour and loved splitting his hostas and daylilies with other plant enthusiasts. He enjoyed fishing in Minnesota and boating on the Rock River. He dearly loved his family and cherished the time spent with them. He liked traveling with family and friends, spending time on the beach in Florida and meeting his good friends for breakfast at McDonalds.

Survived by his wife, Karen Brown; daughter, Christine (Kimber) Brown, of Lake Oswego, Oregon; son, Steven (Karen) Brown, of Windsor, Colorado; grandchildren, Andrew and Milena of Windsor, Colorado, and Levi, Caleb, and Hannah of Lake Oswego, Oregon; sister, Judy Leden, of Machesney Park, Illinois. Bob is predeceased by his parents.
Many thanks to his excellent and compassionate care givers in the ED, ICU, C4 and B4 units at Rockford Memorial Hospital, Health South VanMatre Rehab Hospital, and VNA Home Healthcare.

Funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, March 5, 2016; at Court Street United Methodist Church, 215 North Court Street; with Reverend Calvin Culpepper officiating. Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. on Saturday. Memorials can be made to Court Street United Methodist Church or to Rockford Memorial Hospital Development Foundation. Funeral arrangements by Fitzgerald Funeral Home, 3910 N. Rockton Ave., Rockford, IL, 61103.