Cora "Marie" Brokaw

Cora MarieBrokaw, 81, passed away in Houston, Texas, April 23, 2013. She is survived by her son Richard Brokaw (Kathy); daughter Joline Brokaw Walton (Jim); grandchildren Joie Brokaw Sheppard (Jason), Charity Brokaw, Katie Brokaw Wood (Bernie), David Brokaw, Raychel Walton, Jamie Walton, Marissa Brokaw, Lauren Brokaw, and Austin Brokaw; great-grandchildren Seairra Sheppard, Karisma Sheppard, Olivia Wood and Ronan Wood.

Marie is preceded in death by her husband, James Brokaw; her sons, Timothy and Jon; her parents, Fred and Cora May Welch; and siblings, Evelyn Welch Dossey, Robert Welch, Dorothy Welch Stinemates, Betty Welch Maimone, Donald Welch, and Margaret Welch Haar.

Marie was strong and steadfast, always showing faith in the most difficult of circumstances. Not many women could pack up an entire family and move to the jungles of Brazil as she did with her husband in 1967. This type of devotion through 62 years of marriage showed others that true love really exists.

Those who knew Marie remember her spectacular gardens, especially the one grown with her husband Jim on the picturesque hilltop alongside their home in Des Moines. She carefully tended to acres of vegetables, often to package or can them as gifts. Rows and rows of colorful flowers were also planted and plucked only to bring joy to others. Like her beautiful flowers, Marie had an inner quiet beauty that unfolded through the years to display her strength and selflessness during struggles in her life, like fighting cancer three times and losing two sons and a dear husband.

Called courageous, classy and quietly powerful by her granddaughters, Marie showed them how to cook, get dirty, and still throw on some pearls to be ravishingly feminine in time for dinner. She was one of a kind and will never be forgotten.

Friends and family members may attend a visitation on Monday, April 29, from 5 8 p.m., and funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 30, at 10 a.m. Both will be held at Banks and Beals Funeral Home in Stronghurst, Illinois, 301 South Mary Street. Burial will be at Raritan Cemetery.