Julie Ann Brown, 75, passed away on November 2, 2025 at the Tiffany Square Care Center in Grand Island, Nebraska, where she had lived for the past several months.
Julie was born on March 15, 1950 in Elizabeth, New Jersey to William Joseph and Thelma Eunice (Will) Zielenbach. She was the fourth of six children, arriving after older sister, Diane, brothers, David and William, and before brothers John and Christopher. In 1968, Julie graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Elizabeth. Some years later, after moving to Nebraska, she worked at the Bank of Commerce in Lincoln.
On September 1, 2008, Julie was united in marriage to Doran Ray Brown. Following their marriage, they lived in Hickman and then Berwyn, Nebraska. During her time in Berwyn, she worked at the Smoke Shack and some years later sold handmade cards and baked goods in Loup City and at the Broken Bow Farmers Market along with her friend, Holly Johnson.
Julie regularly attended the Weissert Church in Weissert, Nebraska from October 2021 until July 2022, when she moved to Grand Island. She also participated during that time in a weekly Bible Study in Broken Bow, and then continued to participate by telephone even after she moved to Grand Island. Since October 2021, she developed a thirst for God’s Word and grew not only in her Biblical understanding but in her certainty that she had put her faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Doran, and brothers David and William Zielenbach.
Julie is survived by her sister, Diane (Pauli) Liebisch of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and brothers John (Glenda) Zielenbach of Thonotosassa, Florida and Christopher Zielenbach of Plant City, Florida. She is also survived by her those she considered her Nebraska family, close friends Dana and Jim White, Marilyn Hyatt, Tom and Louella Leggett and Bob and Priscilla Winn of Broken Bow.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at the Weissert Church, 80298 South Weissert Road in Weissert, Nebraska. Pastor Bob Winn will be officiating. Burial will take place at the Janesville Cemetery in Berwyn following a meal at the church.
