Ruth Ellen Brown

Ruth E. Brown, 94, died at 1:20 a.m. March 17, 2022, at Friendship Village in Sunset Hills, Missouri.

Born April 9, 1927, in East Prairie, Missouri of the late Fayette Marshall and Christine Townsend Marshall. In her youth, she sang in a trio known as the "Melody Girls" on the radio and was employed as a "Harvey Girl" at the St. Louis Union Station.

On Jan. 2, 1948, at East Prairie, she married George G. Brown who preceded her in death in 2002. She lived in St. Louis for many years, returned to Charleston for several years on the family farm and was a member of the First Baptist Church. For the past 18 years she has been a lively resident of Friendship Village in Sunset Hills, Missouri.

Survivors include: one son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Helen Brown of Madisonville, TX; two daughters and one son-in-law, Sherry and James Spindel of Sunset Hills and LaDonna Ward of Fenton; two brothers, Reverend Ross Marshall of East Prairie and Dennis Marshall of Baton Rouge, LA; two sisters, Joy Ivy of Kansas City, and Brenda Holdiness of Cape Girardeau; and six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Two brothers and two sisters preceded her in death.

Visitation for family will begin at 10:00 a.m., with visitation for friends to then begin at 11:00 a.m. and continue until the funeral hour at 1:00 p.m., Monday, March 21, 2022, at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston.  The Reverend Chuck DePriest, of the Harrisburg, Illinois will officiate the service.

Burial will follow in the IOOF Cemetery near Charleston under the direction of the McMikle Funeral Home of Charleston.