"Well done, good and faithful servant!" Matthew 25:23

Rita Anna (Bohmann) Brown, age 93, of Appleton passed into eternal life on February 13, 2021 of natural causes.  She was born near Marshfield, WI on June 27, 1927 to George Bohmann and Mary (Schneider) Bohmann.  She was the 14 ^th of 15 children.   She grew up on the family farm and was formed by family, church, work and parochial school.

As a young woman she transitioned from working on the farm to domestic work. One night while returning from a dance, she was in a serious car accident, the effects of which she dealt with her entire life. But she recovered and went to work as a waitress at the best hotel in Marshfield. She met her life partner and best friend Carl D. Brown and married in 1954.  They moved to his hometown of Appleton where she took a job in a knitting mill. Soon after she became a full time mother with a family of five children to raise.

Life dealt her a terrible blow in 1971 when Carl suffered a premature death from a heart attack. Left with five young children to raise, she embarked on the most difficult challenges of her life. With support from many of the best friends anyone could hope to have, she learned for the first time how to drive a car and handle finances while trying to manage a herd of five children from 7 to 13 years old.   No small task, but one which she navigated beautifully.   She took pride in all five of her children.

After her family was grown up, she took jobs in house cleaning, order fulfillment, and then at Manderfield's Bakery where she again made lifelong friends.   Once retired, she spent valuable time with her grandchildren and other family. We were blessed to have her with us for her long and beautiful life.

Rita was a member of St. Therese Parish in Appleton for 67 years, a member of the Ladies of St. Therese and a 75 year member of the Catholic Knights.  She liked reading about and watching current events and sports – especially her beloved Green Bay Packers.

Rita was kind, modest and hardworking and an inspiration to all who knew her. Especially her kids.

Rita is survived by daughter Carla (Candace Roth); sons Steve (Karin Weiss Brown), Tim, Bob (Linda Brown); daughter-in-law Amy Brown Maertz; and grandchildren Jennifer Helms, Bill Timmer, Betsy Brown Tseng, Nicole Brown Voltz, Andy Brown, Spencer Brown, Kyle Brown, and Miranda Dums.

Rita was the last survivor of the immediate Bohmann family. Preceding her in death were husband Carl D. Brown (1971) and son Joseph W. Brown (2007).

Due to the pandemic, a private service will be held. It will be posted to the O'Connell Funeral Home Facebook page and available to view Sunday.   In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Retirement Fund for the Religious, at https://www.catholicfoundationgb.org/annual-giving/retirement-collection/

Special thanks from Rita and her family to Dr. James Richter, Dr. Agei O Enoh, Dr, Ray Georgen, Dr. David Beltz, the Cardiology and Emergency Departments at St. Elizabeth Hospital, the caregivers at the St. Paul Hospice Program in Kaukauna, and to countless others who helped Mom throughout her life.