Lynelle Brown

Lynelle Brown was born on May 18, 1950, in her childhood town of Billings, Mont. to the late John Richmond Hartpence and Bernice Elnore Olsen-Hartpence. Lynelle became a devoted member of the Baha’i faith in her youth. At the age of 21 Lynelle traveled to British Honduras as part of a service project.
Lynelle and her late husband, David A. Brown, raised their family in Custer, S.D. They welcomed and cared for foster children in their home before and after raising their own children. They permanently welcomed one child into their home by adopting their beloved Ogala Sioux daughter Avis (age 2, born 1974) who was born with a severe form of osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bones disease) This was immediately prior to conceiving Johanna (1977), Benjamin (1978), and Brian (1979). Lynelle was a licensed practical nurse who worked at South Dakota Developmental Center. Prior to that she was a volunteer EMT with the Custer Ambulance Service and worked as a dispatcher for the local sheriff’s office.
Once their children were college age Lynelle and her husband moved to Biddeford, Maine, so David could work as a physical therapy professor at the University of New England. Lynelle gained employment with the Maine Area Agency on Aging where she completed nutrition assessments for the Meals on Wheels program. She worked full-time until the day it was discovered that she had a large aneurysm which required an immediate craniotomy for clipping. The 2009 procedure was successful in saving her physical life, however it left her with a devastating brain injury resulting in her losing her cognitive independence.
She sacrificed her friends and familiarity when unselfishly following her daughter Johanna’s move to Ontario, Ohio, in 2014 so they could be closer to the Gilland family.
Lynelle passed away Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, at Orrville Pointe Nursing Home after an extended illness. She was 74.
She was preceded in death by her parents; spouse, David A. Brown; daughter, Avis W. Myers-Brown; and brothers, William Hartpence, Charles Hartpence and Joseph Hartpence.
Lynelle leaves to cherish in her memory her daughter, Johanna Lee (David) Gilland; sons, Benjamin Aaron (Deirdre) Imagire and Brian Thomas (Silvita) Brown; sisters, Eunice (Donn Smith) Hartpence and Sylvia (Robert) Morrison; grandchildren, Kaden Gilland, Arianna Diaz Brown, Elina Gilland, Khalil Imagire, Elon Imagire, Raven Gilland, and Bahiyyih Imagire; and a host of relatives and friends.
The family has entrusted Small’s Funeral Services with the private arrangements.
To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Lynelle Brown please visit the Small Funeral Service sympathy store.