Nancy Beth Brown

Nancy was born in Milwaukee, WI to Theodore and Viola (Schroeder) Dobbratz on September 15, 1938. When she was very young, Ted thought it would be safer to move his family to their cottage on Lake Nagawicka during the war. If bombs hit Milwaukee, they would be safer in the country. They lived there for 4 years until the war was over, then moved back to Milwaukee.

Nancy attended the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 1956 to be a teacher. In 1959, she met Milton Markworth at a Bible Study and it was love at first sight. In 1960, they both moved to St Louis, MO. Nancy got her first teaching job at Zion Lutheran school and Milt went to Seminary at Concordia.

They married on June 11, 1960, and immediately afterwards, they went to Glacier National Park for their honeymoon/summer job for the next 3 months. Two years later, Chrissie was born and 15 months after that, Tim was born, both in St Louis, MO.

Milt was ordained and called to a brand-new church outside of Chicago, in Hampton Park, IL. That lasted less than 5 years due to differences in philosophy and whether or not this blue-collar church should allow people of color in it. This was the 1960's after all and the community was not ready for change. On a happy note, Dan was born in 1967 before Milt accepted the next call to a church in Bowie, Texas. The small farming community welcomed the family with eggs, chickens, dewberries, melons, sausage, peanuts, and more. It was culture shock for everyone to live in such a rural area rather than a city, but Nancy would follow Milt anywhere. Most of all, she loved being a mom to Chrissie, Tim, and Dan!

A big shift happened when Nancy and Milt went to a Full Gospel Businessmen's Dinner in Wichita Falls one day and received the Holy Spirit there. When their congregation found out, they asked Milt to resign. They said the "baptism in the Holy Spirit is scriptural but not Missouri Synod Lutheran". There were no more calls to churches as long as they had "charismatic" by their name. With no place to go, the family moved to Terre Haute, Indiana where Nancy's parents lived. The Markworth family lived in Terre Haute, Indiana from 1970 - 1977 and Jonathan was born there. During those 7 years, Milt did not pastor a church. He had speaking engagements at different churches but no regular, predictable source of income. Somehow, the bank still allowed Milt, with a down payment of $100, to close on a 100-year-old house on Center Street. House payments were $100 a month. These were the years of "living on faith" and there were plenty of miracles during that time. Having a 4th child during this time was nothing short of a miracle.

Then came the call to North Heights Lutheran Church in Roseville, Minnesota. Finally, Milt and Nancy had a church to call home and a community in which to put down roots. Roseville is where they raised their family, while Milt served on staff as one of the pastors at North Heights. Nancy was still willing to follow Milt wherever he felt God was leading them. In 1986, they went on a mission trip to smuggle Bibles into China. Nancy was afraid but committed to spreading the gospel no matter the risk.

In the fall of 1994, Chrissie was preparing to marry Bruce, when Milt unexpectedly experienced a heart attack 10 days before the wedding. Milt died that day and Nancy's whole world shifted again. Much of her identity had always been fulfilled by being a wife and mother so she struggled to find her bearings. Nancy joined a grief group and met Robert Bortot, who was grieving the loss of his wife. Nancy and Robert married on May 25, 1996. Sadly, Robert also died of a heart attack just 3 1/2 years later.

Nancy attended Brooklyn Park Lutheran which would later become Discover Church and was friends with another member of the church, Dennis Brown. This friendship blossomed into a romance and resulted in another walk down the aisle for Nancy. Denny and Nancy were married at Discover Church on May 10, 2003.

Nancy went back to school and got her Masters of Divinity. She worked as a spiritual director at Praise of His Glory Spiritual Retreat Center. She and Denny traveled all over the world. Throughout her life, starting with Milt, Nancy traveled to 33 countries. She wrote and published a book on grief called "Suddenly Your World Falls Apart ", based on her personal experience with grief. She loved to paint and to study God's Word so when she moved to Tradition Assisted Living in 2020, she added Painting Class and Bible Study to the monthly calendar of activities offered. Nancy never waited for life to happen to her, and she never doubted God's faithfulness. Not in the good times or the bad. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease about 9 years ago and it slowly took her mobility and much of her body and brain functioning. For a person who had been so active at one time, it was a crushing blow. And yet she continued to live the best life possible, always generous with others, sharing Jesus, staying connected with her family first and then with every person she met throughout her life. She will never be forgotten.

Nancy was preceded in death by her first husband Milton Markworth, second husband Robert Bortot, and third husband Dennis Brown. She was also preceded in death by her parents, Theodore and Viola Dobbratz and her sister, Joan Morton, brother Robert, and her daughter-in-law, Jodi Markworth.

Nancy is survived by her daughter Chrissie (Bruce) Hanson, grandchildren Katie, Rachel, Alyssa, and Christopher. She is also survived by son Tim Markworth and grandchildren Josh and Jakobe. Nancy is survived by son Dan (Jen) Markworth and grandchildren Gabe and Eli. She is also survived by son, Jonathan Markworth.

Funeral services will be held at Discover Church, 1400 81st Ave N, Brooklyn Park, MN 55444, on Thursday, June 4, 2026, with visitation from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, followed by the service at 11:00 am.

In lieu of memorials, the family would prefer donations made in Nancy's memory to the Parkinson's Foundation Minnesota and Dakotas Chapter.

Final resting place will be Roselawn Cemetery, Roseville, MN.