Erna Frieda Kaschube Brown

Erna Frieda Kaschube Brown, 93, passed away peacefully in her sleep, January 5, 2014, at Cedar Ridge Special Care Center, Cedar Park, Texas. Services will be held at the Ten Sleep Cemetery, Ten Sleep, Wyoming at a date to be scheduled in the future.

Erna was born October 5, 1920, on a farm near Brockton, Montana. She is the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth (Luft) Kaschube and was the sixth of nine children. She was baptized and confirmed at the Settlement Church, north of Culbertson, Montana and attended school in the north Brockton area at Biem School. Like so many other children during that time of the century, she only went through the eighth grade so she was able to help with work on the home farm. At the age of 80, however, she obtained her GED degree through a study program at her home in Worland, Wyoming. She was a trained beautician having completed beauty school in Casper, Wyoming in 1946, and worked as a beautician for 63 years until relocating to Texas in 2009 to be nearer her son and family.

She married Morgan Brown on April 20, 1940. Morgan was employed as a surveyor with the U.S Bureau of Reclamation working on the Buffalo Bill Dam and the canyon road west of Cody, Wyoming at the time of their marriage. During the war they moved to Cheyenne where Morgan was employed by the Department of Defense working to expand and improve the Air Force Base there. Their only child, Dennis, was born in 1941. After attending beauty school in Casper, Erna, Morgan, and Dennis moved back to Morgan's home town, Ten Sleep, Wyoming in 1946. On Christmas Day, 1952, their home in Ten Sleep burned down while they were visiting Morgan's sister, Amanda, in Cody. Townsfolk helped them build a new pine log house on the same lot where they lived until 1955 when they moved to Worland.

Erna was noted for being a great baker of pies, cakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls. These and other assorted pastries were always coming out of her kitchen. Also, untold numbers of quilts, afghans, baby clothing, sweaters, and miscellaneous decorated garments produced over her lifetime were received and enjoyed by countless friends and family members. Erna and Morgan were longtime square dancers going back to their early days in Ten Sleep. Morgan called dances plus they gave lessons and enjoyed being members of the Circle Eight Square Dance club in Worland. Plus they went on countless trips to dance jamboree events at many locations throughout the west.

With the passing of Morgan in August, 1999, Erna remained in Worland tending her beauty shop in the basement of her home. She moved to Texas near Austin in June, 2009 to be near her family.

Erna is survived by her son, Dennis (Lana) Brown of Lakeway, Texas; grandsons Kevin Brown of Austin, Texas, Corey (Margaret) Brown of Houston, Texas, six great-grandchildren; one sister, Christine Damm Dick of Greeley, Colorado, and brothers Alfred(Myrna) and Otto Kaschube (Teddy) of Plentywood and Brockton, Montana.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Elizabeth Kaschube; her husband, Morgan Brown; her sisters, Bertha Damm Swallow, Dorothy Damm Schwartz, and Molly Damm Lauridsen and Minna Martha Kaschube who passed away as a baby; and two brothers, David Damm and Harold Kaschube.

Graveside services Friday, June 27, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the Ten Sleep Cemetery, Ten Sleep, Wyoming.