Ronald William Brown

December 02, 1955 — June 07, 2026

Ronald Brown

Service Details

Ronald William Brown, 70, passed away unexpectedly June 7, 2026. He’ll be remembered fondly by all those he chatted with and went out of his way to help. He had a huge heart and extended his love widely. He was generous with his time, smiles and hugs among friends and family.

Ron was a Southern Iowa farm boy. He attended East Union High School, graduated from ISU and later made his home in the Des Moines area with his wife and two children.

For most of his career, he was an insurance agent, running his own agencies – Five Star, Majestic and Legacy Insurance. He was deservedly proud of all he accomplished in work, and that he and Jan were able to build a lakehouse where his family spent countless days of joy each summer.

Ron enjoyed telling stories, coaching his kids’ sports teams, and later, acting silly to get the grandchildren laughing. He was known as “Captain Ron,” driving the boat to toss off the tubers, waking early to go out skiing, fishing off the dock and hopping in the water to play with the kids.

Off the lake, he enjoyed snow skiing, various hunting and fishing expeditions, driving sports cars and motor cycles, and playing cards. He had fun on the golf course, enjoyed playing billiards and was his daughter’s pitching coach.

He was very proud of his excellence in sports - football, basketball and baseball in particular – and coached during his year as a teacher. His basketball coach said he had the "quickest hands he’d ever seen,” and he received the “oil can award” in football because the whole team worked better together when he was playing.

He told many stories of the hard work on his parents’ farm - the tame cows, baling hay, moving cattle, walking beans and instilled that love of outdoors and value of hard work in his children.

Ron worked hard as well on home renovation projects with Jan, redoing kitchens, floors, finishing the basement at the lakehouse and touching up the recently bought Florida condo. For many years, he maintained restaurant buildings in Des Moines, helped on remodels at his kids’ homes and recently spent weeks with his sister, uncle and nephew readying a family member’s home for sale. “Family helps family,” he said often.

The memory and stories of Ron will always be cherished by his beloved wife, Jan; his daughter, Kelli (Jacob) Leonard, son, Curtis (Carla) Brown, 4 grandchildren Luis, Nicolas, Chloe and Hailey; his brother Richard Brown and sister Deb Smith; and so many others. He is preceded in death by his parents Lloyd and Helen Brown.

There were so many plans for fun in the future, and our family remains stunned by the circumstances and unanswered questions that led us here. We’re grateful though for the time we had together and will especially cherish recent family trips together - to Orlando and Kennedy Space Center over News Years with Kelli and her family and to the Florida condo with Curt and family over Memorial Day weekend.

He will be remembered Saturday, June 13 with a visitation at Hamilton’s Funeral home in West Des Moines from 12-2 p.m. and a memorial service at 2 pm. Family and friends are invited to a celebration of life reception in Clive following the services. Details will be available at the services or contact a family member for more info.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the family for later distribution to first responders in Southern Iowa.