David Wm. Brown

David Wm. Brown, 70, of rural Mondovi, died Wednesday at this home with his wife by his side where they loved to be. He was born September 26, 1949 in Wellington, KS, to Carol and Neola (Wampler) Brown. The family moved to California in 1959. David married Chris Jefferies shortly after graduating from high school. He later married Frances Williams Freeman in 1979 in San Bernardino, CA. Soon after they wed, the couple moved with the kids to Wisconsin to be near his brother, Milton. Fran died in November 1981 in a car accident in rural Mondovi. In October 1988, David married Jane Yelton. She took on the role as mother to his young children as well as her son, Mark. Together they raised their kids as a family in Mondovi. David was an excellent auto mechanic. Throughout his entire life, he worked on cars. Whether it be working on drag cars to service shops in both California and Wisconsin, or out of his shop at home, he enjoyed turning wrenches and excelled at it. Many knew him as an employee of Lindstrom Equipment in Modena. For several years he was employed there working on farm equipment and getting to know local farmers. He truly enjoyed working for the Lindstrom family and made several friendships with coworkers. After leaving Lindstrom’s he was able to fulfill his lifelong dream of running a restaurant. David and Jane operated the Panther Café in Gilmanton for 13 years. He loved cooking, creating specialty dishes, and conversation with his patrons. In his free time, he loved spending time with his wife, reading, fishing with his grandkids, gardening, and spoiling his dogs. He will forever be remembered as a man of God; a man who gave unconditional love to 5 children that were not biologically his. Survivors include his wife, Jane of Mondovi; four children, Shannon (Clarence) Bautch of Winona, MN, Tracy Brown of Mondovi, Mark (Susan) Lundberg of Winona, MN and Autumn (Brent Hohmann) Brown of Fountain City; four grandchildren, Bailey Bautch of Rochester, MN, Noah (Nicole Birschbach) Prokop of Independence, Ryan Bautch of Winona, MN, and Kathryn Hohmann of Fargo, ND; his mother, Neola Heasty of Derby, KS; four siblings, Cecile (Gary) Carson of Derby, KS, Kurt Brown of Strum, Millie (Rick) Engen of Eleva and Sheila (Mitch) Tibbs of Wichita, KS. David was preceded in death by his father, Carol; wife, Fran; two sisters, Carolyn Chapman and Aimee Syrett; brother, Milton Brown; and son, Dana Brown. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of David Wm. Brown, please visit our flower store.