Melba Lulene Comer Fitzgerald Brown

Melba Lulene Comer Fitzgerald Brown, 83, died April 29, 2020, at Brookdale Senior Living in Leawood, Kansas. She was under the care of Brookdale Hospice after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Melba was born December 16, 1936 in Atchison Kansas, to John Lee Comer and Melba Helen Arnold Comer. She graduated from Mount Saint Scholastica Academy in 1955. Melba married Floyd Joseph Fitzgerald in 1955. They had five children. She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and was an active volunteer in the community. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi sorority, and she performed in a ladies' choir for many years. She worked as a teacher's aide at both Martin East and Martin West Elementary Schools for several years. In 1988 she went to work for Jackson County Kansas Health Department as a childcare health consultant. Melba married Donald Judson Brown in 1988. They lived in Leavenworth, Kan.; Holton, Kan.; Topeka, Kan.; Brownsville, Texas; and finally Bella Vista, Ark. She was a member of First United Methodist Church of Bella Vista, and was a member of the choir, where she sang in the annual Christmas Cantata. They retired in 1995 and traveled to every state in the union. Survivors include her beloved husband, Judson Brown, of Bella Vista, Ark.; one sister Darby Orange, of Indiana; three sons, John J. Fitzgerald, Independence, Mo.; Michael L. Fitzgerald, Leavenworth, Kan.; Mark P. (Angela) Fitzgerald, Kansas City, MO; two daughters, Floydean (Darrell) Liggett, Atchison, Kan.; Mary Pat (Jim) Potter, Woodbine, GA; one stepson, Judson M. Brown, Topeka, Kan.; one stepdaughter, Delana Burris, Ladson, S.C. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, and 26 great rgandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m. at Belden-Larkin Funeral Home, 707 S. 6th St., Leavenworth, Kan. Visitation will be Wednesday, May 6, 5-7 p.m. Interment at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. Social distancing measures will be in place. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Alzheimer's Association. Arrangements have been entrusted to Belden Larkin Funeral Home, Leavenworth, Kan.