Sally Jo (Lovelace) Brown

Sally Jo (Lovelace) Brown died peacefully at her group home residence in Surprise, Arizona on Sat., Sept. 26, 2026. The former resident of Davenport, Iowa, who had lived most recently in Sun City West, Arizona and was 85 years old. Her loving husband of 62 years, Stanley L. Brown, was at her bedside.
Family members celebrate Sally Jo’s quiet “frontier” mentality—her willingness to transplant herself into new places, and to stitch together communities of faith, family, and learning with music, laughter, needle and thread.
Sally Jo was born June 17, 1941, in Bozeman, Montana to William (“Bill”) Harlan and Opal Baer Lovelace. Following her father’s death in 1956, Sally Jo and her mother moved to San Bernardino, California. She graduated with honors in June 1959 from Pacific High School.
She received a scholarship to attend Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, where she met her future husband. They graduated in 1963. Stan and Sally Jo were married June 22, 1964, in Rock Island, Illinois.
After her husband joined the U.S. Air Force in 1966, Sally Jo managed households in such places as California, Japan, Florida, and Ohio. Son William Randall (“Randy”) was born in 1968 while the couple was stationed in California. Son Robert Scott was born in 1972, while the couple was stationed on Florida’s “Space Coast.”
Sally Jo held variety of teaching positions during her life. After college, she taught Spanish at the junior high and high school levels. During the Air Force days, she did volunteer work and sang with the officers’ wives club “Skylarks.” After the Air Force, with school-aged children, she returned to teaching. At Scott Community College, near Bettendorf, Iowa she taught English as Second Language (ESL) and later managed Project SUCCESS, a career advancement program. Later, she returned to teaching ESL, this time at West High School, Davenport. In 2000, she retired with more than 20 years of Iowa classroom service.
In retirement, Sally Jo applied her sewing talents to quilting. She created hundreds of quilts for family and friends, as well as for charities such as Lutheran World Relief and Quilts of Honor. She enjoyed traveling with friends and family, to destinations in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Between 2004 and 2021, the couple “snowbirded” between Iowa summers and Arizona winters.
Sally Jo is survived by her husband; son Randy and Anne M. Erlandson Brown of Johnston, Iowa, along with their children Kieran and Ian; son Scott and Catherine (Edwards) Brown of Portola Valley, California, along with their children Abby and Parker.
Celebration of life events are pending in both Sun City West, Arizona and Davenport, Iowa. Memorials may be sent to the Quilting Ministries at either of these respective churches:
Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA)
1140 E. High Street
Davenport, Iowa 52803
Lord of Life Lutheran Church (ELCA)
13724 W. Meeker Blvd
Sun City West, Arizona 85375