Michael Brown thoroughly enjoyed life
Memorial will be November 14, 2024, at the Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills, California.
Michael Edwin “Mike” Brown was passionate about the way he lived life and the people surrounding him. He was a fun and loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. His family said he was always ready to lend a helping hand.
Mike passed away peacefully with his family by his side, on October 24, 2024, after a long duration of challenging health issues. He was born May, 9, 1939, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Willis (Bill) Brown and Cassaline (Honey) Stephenson Brown of Edina, Minnesota.
Mike graduated from Edina High School and then attended the University of Minnesota before enlisting in the US Navy, in 1958. He graduated as a Navy Hospital Corpsman, serving with both the Navy and Marines before his honorable discharge.
After his military service, he continued his studies, graduating from St. Cloud State College in 1965, with a degree in business.
In 1966, Mike married Sandra Lepel of Plato, Minnesota in 1966. The couple moved to the Chicago area, where he worked in advertising for LOOK Magazine, and started their family with the birth of his daughter, Michelle.
A few years later, they returned to the Minneapolis area. Mike accepted a new position with Jostens, a company that personalized high school and college yearbooks and rings.
They soon welcomed their second child, Michael. The family later relocated to Rockford, Illinois. Seven years later they moved to Roscoe, Illinois, where Michael and Michelle attended Hononegah High School.
Mike retired in 2001, after 32 years in a successful career as an independent sales representative for Jostens, covering schools in the northern Illinois territory. Students knew him as "The Ring-Man."
Mike enjoyed golfing, rafting, family gatherings, and was a super fan of the Minnesota Vikings. He fell in love with snow-skiing. He was a ski bum at Aspen Mountain. He shared his love for skiing with his family and friends, and spent several years as a Big Sky Resort mountain host.
“Dad was passionate about the way he lived life and the people who surrounded him,” Michelle said. “Dad was an athlete at heart, even fulfilling his dream of finishing the NYC Marathon. He had a beautiful respect for nature and was an avid bird hunter. His love for the sport and conservation of wetland habitats, inspired him to become a Heritage and Grand Slam Life Sponsor of Ducks Unlimited.”
Mike is preceded in death by his sister Stephanie Brown Porterfield, her husband Christopher Porterfield, and niece Tessa Porterfield.
He is survived by his wife, Sandra of Folsom, California, daughter Michelle Brown Reid and son-in-law Scott Reid, son Michael Edwin Brown II, granddaughters Madeline and Olivia Reid, and nephews Christopher and Kevin Porterfield.
A memorial and Celebration of Life in his honor will be held November 14, 2024, at the Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills, California.
The Brown family invites anyone unable to attend the memorial in person to join Mike's service live via Zoom at 1:30 p.m. CST on Thursday.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86289695633?pwd=cbruNg3FyR3mHLLHHGfZphqO7RRn2K.1
Password: Serrano
In lieu of flowers, the family would ask that donations be made in Mike’s honor to either the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or to the All Saint’s Church in Big Sky, MT where he was a member.
