Marlene was finally reunited with the love of her life on August 14, 2022, her husband of 41 years, Ralph Thomas Brown, who preceded her in death in 1993. Marlene Lorretta Hacker was born on September 30, 1932, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Ursula McGivern and Roscoe Hacker.
Marlene grew up in Des Moines, graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy and married Ralph Brown in August 1952. She resided in Windsor Heights where she and Ralph raised their six children. She enjoyed working at Preferred Risk Insurance and loved retirement by spending time with friends and family and working part-time at Dowling. Marlene eventually moved to the Iowa City area to spend her final years.
She was preceded in death by her parents Ursula and Roscoe Hacker; her loving husband, Ralph Thomas Brown; her eldest sister Marilyn Rich; and son-in-law Robert (Bob) Denneson.
She will be sorely missed and is survived by her brother, William Hacker; brother-in-law, Don Rich; children, Daniel (Regina) Brown, Debbie (Thomas) Stewart, Stephanie Denneson, Lynn (Dave) Cerjak, William Brown, and Lori Talal; 13 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. All whom loved her dearly and will never forget her tenacity, wit, laugh, and endless love and caring for them.
Marlene shared “I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one, to remember me with a smile and laugh. I don’t want tears, only thoughts of JOY that we have had through the years. I want my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to know I will always look down upon them and be there for them in their hour of need. Just know I will be with Dad again and if you look to the sky you will see us smiling at you.”
Visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, August 18, 2022 at McLaren’s Chapel in West Des Moines followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Resthaven Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Marlene Brown to the National Alliance of Mental Illness Iowa at https://namiiowa.salsalabs.org/namiiowadonation/index.html.