Lorelee Ruth Brown, 84, of Fairfield, IA entered into eternal life on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at Addington Place in Fairfield, IA.
Funeral services honoring her life will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at the First United Methodist Church in Fairfield, IA with Pastor Tim Phillips and Pastor Al Coffin officiating. Friends and family will gather for a time of lunch and fellowship at the church immediately following the service, before traveling to Evergreen Cemetery for burial. The family will be present to greet friends from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 16, 2026, at the Cranston Family Funeral Home in Fairfield. Memorial contributions in Lorelee’s honor may be directed to the Fairfield First United Methodist Church and mailed c/o Cranston Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 189, Fairfield, IA 52556. Friends may leave online condolences and join the livestream at www.cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com.
Lorelee Ruth Chandler Brown was born on February 2, 1941 in Williamsburg, Iowa. She was baptized at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. She participated in Quest High School Youth Group for four summers at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt Pleasant. Lorelee graduated from Williamsburg High School in 1959. She was an accomplished drummer and pianist in high school and was asked to try out for the Scottish Highlanders at the University of Iowa, but she decided to marry her high school sweetheart, Claude Brown, from nearby North English on Oct. 24, 1959 at the United Methodist Church in Williamsburg.
The two settled down in Fairfield in 1960 where Lorelee dedicated 33 years of her life raising her children, Kim, Angie, Michelle and Craig. Lorelee loved to build community in several ways. She organized neighborhood block parties, started a Bridge Club that lasted 20 years, and began a Coffee Club at Easter Foods. She served as Girl Scout Scoutmaster for 17 years, summer camp director for 3 years at Waterworks Park, and one year as Cub Scout Den Mother. Lorelee was active in P.E.O. chapter MB serving as president, played in the church handbell choir and served on various committees at United Methodist Church in Fairfield. She made and delivered quilts and crosses giving hope to shut-ins and people in the hospital. She was named Outstanding Citizen at Walton Club for helping to raise money to keep the club open when it fell on tough times in the 1980’s. She served as president of Walton Women’s Stagette, going to the district golf tournament for five years in a row with teammates Judy Freudenberg, Avis Madden and Jean Six.
She was City Doubles Bowling Champion with Shirley Cavenaugh and attended the State Bowling Tournament. Lorelee volunteered for several years as a Special Education Aid at Pence and Washington Elementaries. She began working in real estate in 1989 with Davis & Palmer and then Fairfield Real Estate, earning her Graduate Realtor Institute Degree. The first home she sold was her very own at 1014 Sunny Lane! She earned a reputation as being honest and fair with her clients, which made her a sought after realtor. The joy of her working life was connecting the right person with the right home to help people find a place they loved where they could call home. She retired in 2003. She enjoyed her winter “second home” friends in the Villages in Orlando, Florida for 20 years. She loved golfing, throwing parties, attending Iowa Hawkeye games, playing cards, attending her kids’ and grandkids’ sporting events and music activities, and most of all spending time with her family.
She was preceded in death by her father Gurdon “Duff” Chandler, mother Margaret “Gay” Chandler Leichtman, sisters Pat Evans, Peggy Griffis, brother Robert “Bud” Chandler. She is survived by her husband Claude Brown, daughter Kim (Pr. Tim) Phillips of Des Moines, Angie (Steve) Lamb of Fairfield, Michelle (Rob) Higgins of Fairfield, Pr. Craig (Katie) Brown of Cedar Rapids, 11 grandchildren including Amy (Marcello) Frazier of Lincoln, CA, Grace Phillips of Des Moines, Amanda (Tate) Stender in Des Moines, Jessica (Grant) Walters of Des Moines, Lindsey (Jake) Albano of Pleasantville, NY, Nick Higgins of San Francisco, CA, Megan Higgins of New York, NY, Ryan Higgins of Tempe, AZ, Kirk Brown of Iowa City, Hayden Brown of Cedar Rapids, Brock Brown of Cedar Rapids, and five great grandchildren including Maasai, Khoisan, Sekani, Trenton, and Amari.
