Marian P. (Parmenter) Brower

Marian Brower was born in Grand Rapids on March 23, 1915, to Shelby and Elsa (Hansen) Parmenter, and passed away in Grand Haven, Michigan, on June 22, 2015, having just celebrated her 100th birthday.  Marian and her husband were artists in Chicago, Grand Rapids, and Leland, Michigan, with many exhibits including shows at The Grand Rapids Art Museum, Hackley Art Gallery in Muskegon, and Grand Valley State College, and winning several awards.  She was an art teacher in the Forest Hills Public Schools, and the Grand Rapids YWCA Putnam School.  Marian enjoyed drawing and painting, sewing, wildflower gardening, walking in the woods, and finding a good book to read.  She and her husband, Clarence, loved their retirement in Leland best of all: painting and sketching in the Leelanau Peninsula, collecting stones along Lake Michigan, parties and cross-country skiing with friends, membership in a co-op art gallery in Northport, and music at Interlochen.  She was a wonderful role model for her family, always a creative and positive mother and grandmother, and will be dearly missed.  Marian is survived by her children, Emily (Robert) Jensen, and John Brower, both of Grand Haven; grandchildren, John (Chalad) Jensen of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Thomas Jensen of Durango, Colorado; great-grandson Jason Brower Jensen; two step-grandsons, Ophat and Piphatphon Phanomkhet in Thailand; brother Shelby (Betty) Parmenter, and a niece and several nephews in California.  Marian was preceded in death by her husband, Clarence, in 1998, and sisters, Katherine Parmenter and Carol (Willard) Rathbun.  A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am, Thursday, August 6, 2015, at The United Methodist Church of the Dunes, with Rev. Dr. Glenn Wagner officiating.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.  Memorial contributions in memory of Marian may be made to The Salvation Army of Grand Haven, or Hospice of North Ottawa Community.  Please visit www.klaassenfuneralhome.com to sign Marian’s online guest book.  Arrangements by Klaassen Family Funeral Home.