Marilyn Elayne Brown (Crumal)

“Marilyn Elayne (Crumal) Brown, 89, of Alma, Arkansas passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. She was born February 11, 1935, in Porterville, California to the late Cyrus Bruce and Stella Fredrica (Swanson) Crumal. Marilyn was preceded in death by her husband, Hope Wayne Brown, and her parents, Cyrus and Stella Crumal.

Marilyn was a retired registered nurse, an Air Force Veteran who served as a Captain in the Nurse Corps, and a past Honor Queen of Job’s Daughters. Marilyn graduated from Long Beach High School, Class of 1952. After time at Cal State Fullerton, she attended Knapp College of Nursing in Santa Barbara, California, receiving her R.N. in 1957. She worked at Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Hills before she joined the US Air Force in 1959. Her service included a 3-year stint at Misawa Air Base in Japan. She served as a nurse for over 63 years in a variety of specialties and roles that included care for thousands throughout her career, retiring for the first time from Mc Clellan VA Hospital in Little Rock in 1998, she returned to work after being widowed, the second time retiring from Alma Healthcare and Rehabilitation in 2021 after 19 years there. She spent her long life caring for and serving others in a multitude of quiet ways. Marilyn attended First Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

A memorial service will be held at the National Cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Cremation is under the direction of Ocker Funeral Home of Alma. Marilyn is survived by her daughter, Cynthia Ann Bailey and her husband Michael of Alma, Arkansas, “bonus” granddaughter Ellyn Rose Bailey, grandsons Grady Thomas Bailey, and Gavin Wayne Bailey.”