Loretta Mae Brown died peacefully in her sleep in Austin, Texas on Thursday April 18, 2019, at the age of 87. Loretta was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, beloved and only daughter of Emil and Emma Eyhorn, the youngest of five children. She attended St. Mary’s High School where she was the class president her senior year. After graduation, she entered the work force, and met the love of her life, Art Brown, at Straus-Frank Co. marrying him on June 17th, 1950. They raised two sons and five daughters in Austin, Texas.
Loretta, first and foremost, loved Art and raising their family, a fulltime job. She returned to the work force in 1973 as an office manager for optometrist Dr. Lester Kitchen until she retired in 1996.
A devout Catholic, ‘Redda’ was a member of St. Louis Church, then Sacred Heart Church, before landing in Pflugerville, where she joined St. Elizabeth Church. She made many friends in the Crusaders at St. Louis, the Sacred Heart Bridge Club and served in the St. Elizabeth Ladies Club. Even after retirement, she went to work for a short time, contributing her earnings to purchase pews for the new church under construction. These are the places where she met many lifelong friends. The Austin Blood Bank had her on a short list as she was an avid donor.
Loretta was always up for a good game of any kind, especially cards and puzzles, loved working in her garden, sweeping anything she could, watching the grandkids of all ages, breaking into a spontaneous dance with Art, bowling, dressing up for Halloween, and hosting Sunday lunch with the whole gang of kids, old and young alike.
A beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend to so many, Loretta, sadly, lost husband Art after 63 years of marriage. She is survived by children Terry Bruegging and husband Mike, Earl Brown, Paul Brown, Robin Evans and husband Jim, Donna Miller and husband Rodger, Julie Beach and husband Paul, Marcy Bethke and husband David. Her twelve grandchildren include Michelle Sage, Ryan Bruegging, Amanda Bruegging, Shanna Grote, Lacey McCabe, Chris Evans, Clint Evans, Cameron Miller, Jenna Miller, Skylar Beach, Makayla Beach, and Emma Bethke, as well as eleven great-grandchildren, who all loved their Grammie very much. Loretta’s four brothers preceded her to heaven, but their spouses and many nieces and nephews, from both sides of the Brown and Eyhorn family, still adore her, as she did them.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks in Pflugerville, and a Rosary recited at 7:00 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Pflugerville. Interment will follow at Assumption Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: St. Elizabeth’s Ladies Club, 1520 N. Railroad Ave., Pflugerville, TX 78660, Alzheimer's Texas, 7719 Wood Hollow Drive Suite #157, Austin, TX 78731 by mail or via website at http://www.txalz.org/donate/
