January 14, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 8 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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REMEMBERING JERALYN JOY ``JERRY'' BROWN; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 8
(Senate - January 14, 2020)
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[Pages S178-S179] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] REMEMBERING JERALYN JOY ``JERRY'' BROWN Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, we have here a picture of Jerry Brown--Jeralyn Joy Brown--age 89, who passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 8, 2020, at the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital in Thermopolis, WY. She was surrounded by her loving family. For many years, Jerry was a dominant force in Wyoming. For the last 12 years, she was the single most influential voice with the Wyoming Senate delegation. She is my wife Bobbi's mom. Yet Senator Enzi knew her long before I did. Senator Enzi. Mr. ENZI. I thank the Senator. I got to meet this delightful lady in Thermopolis, WY, some 70 years ago. I need to tell you a little bit about Thermopolis, WY, and how I wound up there. During the war, my dad was a welder on ships, and after the war, he moved around the country doing different welding projects, one of which took him to Thermopolis, WY. He welded on the dam there. Dams in the West are used to control floods. They are big projects, and they have a huge impact on communities. This particular one not only controlled floods, but it turned into a great fishery. My folks went to Thermopolis, WY, and they also built a trailer park. It was the first modern trailer park in Thermopolis. By ``modern,'' I mean there was a central building that had indoor showers and flush toilets. You need to understand a little bit about Wyoming. We are small. At that time, there were two cities in Wyoming. To be a city, you had to have more than 3,000 in population. As soon as you had 3,000 in population, you could declare yourself a first-class city. In those early days, Casper--the energy capital at that time--and Cheyenne--the State capital at that time--exceeded 3,000. What effect did that have on the communities? The Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Congregationalists got together and divided up the towns that were small, realizing that they couldn't support all three churches. There was one town that was so small that they actually got together and formed a community church. What is a community church? That is where these three denominations worked together. At one time, there would be a Presbyterian minister who was there, and 2 years later, there would be a Methodist minister who was there and, 2 years later, a Congregational minister who was there. That is where Jerry Brown was the Sunday school teacher, and that is how I came to meet her. [[Page S179]] One of the big realizations, because of this community church thing and the changing of the pastors every 2 years, is that I thought every 2 years the Lord's Prayer changed. She helped me to understand that dilemma. That is where I got to meet Mrs. Brown. She was a Sunday school teacher, and I wound up in her Sunday school class. She taught the kindergarten class. When we first started, she actually moved up a couple of times with me as the classes got combined and as I got older. At that very first one, for Bible school, we held it outdoors underneath the pine tree--a huge pine tree. I can still remember sitting there, enthralled with her descriptions as I held my New Testament. Of course, since I was in kindergarten, I couldn't read, but she filled in for that and gave me a great background. Later, of course, I ran into a book by Robert Fulghum titled, ``All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten.'' For me, it was kindergarten Sunday school. And my teacher, of course--well, she was my first Sunday school teacher and my last living Sunday school teacher. Some of the things she taught were to share everything; play fair; don't hit people; put things back where you found them; clean up your own mess; don't take things that aren't yours; say you are sorry if you hurt someone; and be aware of wonder. And ``wonder'' is, if you put some seeds--and we did this--in a paper cup with dirt and you water it, the plant goes up, and the roots go down. Some people would say nobody knows why or how, but Mrs. Brown said: That is not true. God has a plan. He knows you. He watches out for you. If you see things going wrong, check your direction because it might not be where God wants you. All of this was a good basis for my life. I have always appreciated seeing her through the years, particularly when we have visited that church again, which is still a community church, although most of the towns have split those up into more than one denomination. But I have to say that if the criteria is 3,000 people, by the time the town gets to a first-class city size, the one church is so well established that it is hard for another one to actually get established in a small community like that. As long as there are wonderful people like Mrs. Brown teaching kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and other kids in small communities, this country will be a great place. I thank her for all the background she gave me and ask for your prayers for her family. I thank the Senator. Mr. BARRASSO. I thank Senator Enzi. She was born May 29, 1930, in Casper, WY--the youngest of eight children--to the Dodge family. As Senator Enzi talked about building the dam in the Thermopolis area, the family lived in Alcova during the construction of the dams and the reservoirs in that area before moving to Thermopolis, where the family owned and ran the Wigwam Bakery. They had the best bread, doughnuts, and anything you could ever imagine. She worked a number of places--certainly at the family bakery, but also she worked at the First National Bank. Jerry always volunteered to take the mail from the bank to the post office because she had caught the eye of a young postal employee, Bob Brown. The two were married on September 18 in 1949, and as the Senator knows, they recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. As newlyweds, Bob was sent to Korea. He had been in World War II. He was sent with a whole group from the basin area of Wyoming, as part of the National Guard, to Korea. They first went to Fort Lewis, WA, and Jerry followed. To pay her way, she had to pick filbert nuts. She was telling me at Christmas the size of the bag that they had to fill with these filbert nuts before they got any pay. Well, it was a full day's work, so the lessons she taught Mr. Enzi about hard work, she knew it personally. She was a hard worker. She worked at the bakery. She also worked for Dr. Nels Vicklund, Vicklund Pharmacy, in Hot Springs County. She worked for the Hot Springs County treasurer's office. Her really great joy was when she owned and operated her own store in downtown Thermopolis called Country Charm. As the Senator knows, she was dedicated to her children, Bobbi and Mike, and adored her granddaughter, Hadley. She taught them to work hard, to be kind, and to always do their best. She was a talented crafter, she enjoyed playing bridge, and she was a collector. She collected Santa Clauses, she collected chickens and pictures of chickens, and she collected rocks from around the world. No matter where I went, I needed to bring back a rock for Jerry. She also, as the gentleman knows, collected friends and memories. She had an encyclopedic memory of Wyoming names, Wyoming places, and Wyoming relationships--who was married to whom and whose cousin was who. She rarely left anywhere without a hug and really loved being everyone's favorite Aunt Jerry. She was also an avid reader--and an NBA fan, of all things. She loved God, loved America, and loved our flag. She was a longtime member of the Community Federated Church, the Order of the Eastern Star, and, as we were talking about in the cloakroom, she was State president of PEO. Jerry Brown dedicated her life to her family, to her faith, and to her friends. She was committed to her church and her community. She had a well-deserved reputation for being a joiner, a goer, and a doer. We will celebrate her life on Saturday, January 18, in Thermopolis at the Community Federated Church, and we miss her dearly. May she rest in peace. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________
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