PIERRE, SD –

Jewell (Forgey) Bown passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023 at Avera Hospice in Pierre, SD, 34 days before her 100th birthday. She was born in Gettysburg, SD on January 8, 1924, the fifth of Alonzo and Alta Forgey’s ten children. Jewell grew up in Gettysburg and her childhood was a buzz of activity with 9 siblings and many friends around their modest home. She learned at an early age how to care for her younger siblings and this love of children carried throughout her life as a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother.

Jewell graduated from Gettysburg High School in 1941 and worked as a bookkeeper/pump attendant at a local gas station and a receptionist/practical nurse for the local doctor during and after high school. She met her husband-to-be, Fred Bown, that same year. They were married and moved to the home they created on the farm in northeast Sully County in March of 1943. They lived their entire married life on this place, farming and raising Hereford cattle. Jewell lived on the farm for a total of 68 years, finally moving to Parkwood in Pierre 19 years after Fred’s death in 1992.

Jewell & Fred had three children, Marilyn (’43), Tom (’45) & Marcia (’51). Jewell loved her life as a farm wife and mother in “Bownville” and was involved in every aspect of the farm and the family. She was the local barber, often giving haircuts to family and neighbors well into the night. Her coffee pot was always on, her cookie jar always full, her card table always ready and her home was always open for family and neighbors to stop by. She was best known for her ability to create an unplanned Sunday meal for relatives “out for a Sunday drive”.

Jewell enjoyed animals and was a pretty good vet, nursing baby calves, splinting broken legs and doctoring sick cats. She always had a well trained dog at her side and spent many hours with Fred waiting for young heifers to calve.

Beyond Fred, her greatest love was her children and many grandchildren who loved “going to stay with Grandma on the farm”. She never missed a birthday and always seemed to create a special relationship with each child, young or old. She was the “favorite Aunt” to many of her nephews and nieces. She enjoyed listening to their stories and visiting with people. The last days of her life were spent with family and friends at her side, doing just that.

Jewell was a very positive person, always seeing the “bright side” in things and the “good side” in people. On dry years she saw rain in every cloud build-up and predicted clearing skies for harvest and haying. She loved to travel, enjoying camping trips with family and went to the west coast, Hawaii, England and the Netherlands with Fred after they stopped ranching. On her 99th year she fulfilled a lifelong dream by taking a motorhome trip with her daughters and granddaughters.

Jewell is survived by her 3 children; Marilyn VonWald (Larry), Thomas Bown (Diane), Marcia Cameron (Greg), 8 grandchildren; Robin Skillings, Lori VonWald, Leisa Gutierrez, Ross Bown, Chad Bown, Brittany Rosenthal, Joshua Cameron and Lucas Cameron; 25 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren and one sister, Beverly Merrill. She is also survived by one very special niece, Loni Shoup. She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Bown, her parents Alonzo and Alta Forgey, 5 brothers and 3 sisters, one grandson Lance VonWald and one special nephew-in-law Ben (Buzz) Shoup.

A celebration of Jewell’s life will be held this summer when all family members can join to remember Grandma. Donations in Jewell’s memory may be made to Avera Hospice, 800 E. Dakota Ave, Pierre, SD 57501. Cards and condolences may be sent to Marcia Cameron at 2303 Floyd Avenue, Richmond, Va. 23220.

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