Cecilia "Cil" Brown

Cecilia “Cil” Catherine Brown passed away on Thursday January 16, 2020 at her home in Chehalis, Washington. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at Church of Corpus Christi, 1919 N 2^nd St, Bismarck.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 Thursday, Jan. 30, at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E Divide Ave, Bismarck. A rosary/vigil service will begin at 7:00 p.m.

Burial will be held at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Bismarck.

Cil was born on July 23, 1948 in Rugby, ND, to Peter L. and Agatha Mattern.  She was raised on the family farm near Rugby, attended country school near Rugby and then middle and high school up to the 11^th grade in Rugby. For her senior year she attended Notre Dame Academy in Willow City and graduated in 1966.

She was united in marriage to Gary Grossman on January 20, 1968 at St. Anselm’s Catholic Church in Fulda.  To this union five children were born: Tina, Kory, Renae, Lee and Kristin.

 Cil lived and worked in the Rugby area until she and Gary married and then they raised their family in the Esmond, ND, area.

 Cil and Gary later divorced, and she went on to live in Bismarck, Minot and eventually Washburn where she married Layton Brown on July 11, 1998. Cil and Layton retired and moved to Chehalis, Washington in 2001 where they built their retirement home including a nice big shop for Cil where she could work on all of her many hobbies and projects. The walls were filled with pictures of her children, grandchildren, other loved ones and pieces of her artwork. Cil’s many hobbies included painting, sewing, taking pictures, charcoal drawing, gardening, quilting and entertaining her many friends and family with dinner parties. Cil was a member of numerous groups and clubs, as she was a very social person. She loved getting to know new people and she was always up for a new adventure!

She was a great mother, grandmother and mother-in-law. She loved her children unconditionally and also loved all of her grandchildren who just made her eyes light up.  Cil was very involved with all of her family, staying in touch by phone, email, text and facetime as much as she could.  She didn’t want to miss out on anything. Cil touched our lives and will be greatly missed.

She is survived by her loving husband Layton; her children: Tina (Scott) Smith, Kory (Shelly) Grossman, Renae (Corey) Genetzky, Lee Grossman and Kristin (Charlie) Winn, stepchildren Scott (Deena) Brown and  Jackie (Jim) Mitchell; seven grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Cole, Brandon, Kyra, Jetta, Lydia and Henry; eight step grandchildren, Stephanie, Chelsey, Brittany, Michael, Elizabeth, Caitlyn, Eric and Travis; six step great-grandchildren, Aubrie, Jack, Carsten, Blair, Easton and Layla; and her siblings, Elizabeth (Elgie) Gentry, Pat Kuhnhenn, David Mattern, MaryAnn (Greg) Delzer and Jim Mattern.

Cil was preceded in death by her parents Peter L. and Agatha Mattern; grandson, Ashton Genetzky; and brother-in-law, Daryl Kuhnhenn.