Thad Brown

Michael Thad Brown was born on April 17, 1968, in Afton, WY, to Michael

and Connie Brown, the oldest of 5 children followed by Tyler, Ashley,

Kaydene and Brock. He embraced the role of big brother with love,

guidance, and quiet strength.

Thad's early years were spent on the family farm in Auburn, helping with

the cows, milking, and feeding, but if you know Thad, then you know he

had a love/hate relationship with those SOB cows and always urging his

dad to sell them. He found the most joy on a big tractor in the summer,

preparing the fields for harvest, then hauling and stacking hay for winter.

During the winter months Thad and Tyler would tag-team to harness the

team of horses to pull the feeding sleigh, neither of them quite big enough

to reach by themselves.

When he was 12, he started helping the neighbor farm their land as well. It

was commonly stated that at such an early age, Thad had a gift for running

large farm equipment both on the meadow ground and the hills of Auburn.

He played basketball in 7 th grade Junior High team, he also played 8 th grade

football. After school sports he played church sports. He was the pitcher

for the Auburn Ward Softball team. Like Thad's skill set with machinery, he

also excelled in playing sports.

He started out with a little motor bike which eventually became a bigger

one, and then an even bigger one. This was the case for his snowmobiles,

started out small and worked his way to the biggest and fastest...he was

always looking for something bigger and better. As soon as he turned 16,

he was determined to buy his own truck. He had saved and saved all his

money to be able buy his first truck, despite his mom and dad's opposition

to it. They didn't think that a truck was necessary until he was out of high

school. His trucks and toys quickly became his pride and joy, though not

always new but very nice and well maintained by him. He carried the same

philosophy of bigger and better with his vehicle purchases.

School was never a priority for Thad. After fifth grade, he was never really

excited about school from that point forward. Michael shared that it was for

the love of Connie and Uncle Nord Wilkes that Thad was able to graduate

high school.

Thad experienced a terrible accident over Labor Day Weekend in 1986,

just months after his graduation. He had fallen asleep while driving back

from Alpine and ran off the road hitting an approach and launched him and

a friend over a house landing in the front yard. Somehow, they got out of

the burning truck and Thad carried his friend to the nearby house for cover

until help arrived. A passerby saw the fire and called in for emergency

help. They were both seriously hurt and taken to the local hospital. Thad

suffered severe facial lacerations and a badly broken ankle.

Thad began working for his uncle Francis Brown at CBS logging operating

a skidder, bringing the logs to the log deck. He had obtained his CDL and

started driving semi, he made several runs to various places for CBS. He

later worked for Crit Dory Logging and traveled to various forest locations

and really enjoyed being in the mountains, especially Greys River. His

Uncle Francis always praised Thad for his ability to operate various types

of equipment and did it better than anyone else he knew. He could run it

and take care of it. Over the years you could find Thad on one of Uncle

Francis's big tractors pulling a plow or drill and combining harvesting the

grain in the fall.

Winters for Thad were spent snowmobiling with friends and other family

members. He of course had to have the best and fastest at the time. He

spent a lot of time up Greys River making a yearly trip or two to the Box Y

Guest Ranch, having a great time with great friends. Thad tried his hand

and hill climbing, he had stock and mod sleds that he spent a lot of time

and money on. He won "King of the Hill" at the Hogsback competition in

Logan UT. He would participate in local drag races put on by various

snowmobile groups; he was one of the founding members of the Ridge

Riders Group. When he decided to give up the hill climbs, he told mom he

was selling his sleds to buy her a ring.

At the young age of 27, Thad took on the role of fatherhood of 4 kids, which

was uncharted territory for him, but he took it on with pride and commitment

to make things work.

Thad married Tracy Titensor on July 29 th , 1995, bringing a package deal

with her 4 children, Quinten Ray, Bobbie Jo, Teri Leigh and Alex Ann. They

made their home in Afton. During these early years Thad was working for

Dory Logging and spent his weeks away from them, that was hard for him

to be gone.

Thad held many jobs over the years, some taking him beyond the valley he

called home. He embraced every experience, finding pride and purpose in

his work and joy in honing his craft.

Thad and mom enjoyed their summers taking care of their home, helping

on the farm, camping and 4-wheeling with family and friends. Springtime

meant branding and tagging calves, a time shared with all the nieces and

nephews, brothers and sister.

Every Labor Day weekend was reserved for the Orton family reunion, the

grandkids of Grandma Brown jokingly started calling it the Brown reunion

because so many Brown family members made the annual trip. It was a

special time, full of stories, laughter, treasure hunts and catching with

cousins, aunts and uncles. For years, the highlight was a big, very

competitive horseshoe tournament. It was pretty much an all-day event,

with everyone losing track of time and more than once, pushing back the

start of the next meal. In more recent years that tradition turned into

cornhole tournaments. The games happened on and off throughout the

day, depending on the heat and whether there was enough shaded space

to move the boards.

They had enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Mexico and Alaska, mom enjoyed them a

lot more because these places all included a plane ride to get there and

Thad was not a fan, but always with a smile for mom's sake and with great

friends.

They enjoyed a couple of large 4-wheeler trips to Ferrin, UT and Wallace

ID., These trips created many new friends while strengthening others.

Thad cherished the times spent camping with the kids when they were

below the age of 16, after that they were not fans. He would go through the

trailer helping us understand the water system of the camp trailer.

#1 the water tank doesn't last forever, so you must be careful how

much you use in the toilet

#2 when you brush your teeth, wet your toothbrush turn the water off,

brush then rinse, QUICKLY

#3 showers were not a luxury we could enjoy so you better stay

somewhat clean, if you did get dirty the creek was pretty close by, so grab

your soap and towel and get after it,

#4 last and most important turn the dam pump off,

Whenever us kids needed help or came to him with questions looking for

guidance, he was always willing to assist where he could.

Thad was the best grandpa anyone could ask for and welcomed this new

assignment with grace and gratitude. He loved spending time with them,

taking them on 4-wheeler rides, taking them over to Auburn to ride on the

horses while he led then around the pasture. They were all his little

buddies, and he always made sure the first born got their John Deere shirt

or dress. As the grandkids got older and involved in dance, school and city

league sports, he was there to support them as much as possible.

Thad and mom were able to purchase a little piece of desert in Scenic AZ,

he enjoyed being there with her as much as he could, his work did allow

him to travel back and forth. They have spent the last 4 winters there

enjoying side-by-side rides around a little loop he had found and scoping

out different areas around Scenic.

After grandpa Titensor passed away, mom thought she needed a dog,

Thad tried his best to veto that, "she didn't need one", but mom won out.

That first night home, the plan had been to kenneltrain the dog. But the

moment Thad looked into the eyes of that little puppy, the plan was

forgotten. He was smitten-and the puppy slept that night exactly where he

belonged, right in the middle of them. Thad loved Jett, always worried

about every little hiccup or misstep.

When Thad was having to travel back and forth it was met with long

goodbyes, lots of rub downs, kisses and tears at the thought of leaving Jett,

after all that then mom got a goodbye kiss and travel safe before heading

out the door. When heading out the door Thad would tug on the door

handle more times than was really needed to make sure all was safe and

secure behind it.

Mom taught Thad how to use Zoom so when they talked long distance he

could see the DOG, oh and mom, from his phone. They would talk for a

few minutes and most times he would call right back and have a few more

things to say, always reminding mom of the routine for Jett. Thad didn't

know for a long time that mom had a camera at the Afton house, she could

check in and see him anytime she wanted, which she did often. He had

deep concern for her well-being as well as everyone around him.

Mom and Thad had big plans for the future, as retirement was on the

horizon, 30 years, 5 months, 2 weeks, was truly not long enough to share a

life filled with love, memories and unconditional devotion. Thad believed in

living life to the fullest, and he did exactly that.

Thad is survived by his wife Tracy, kids, Quinten Ray (Apryl) Cazier,

Hayden and Maddy Cazier, Bobbie Jo (Robbie) Shedd, Teri Leigh (Clay)

McNeel, Austin, Owen, Clair and Carmen, Alex Ann (Cole) Perry, Eryka,

Camry and Berkley

His Mom and Dad, brothers, Tyler (Jana Lyn) Brown, Ashley (Heather)

Brown, sister, Kaydene (Brian) Andrews, brother Brock (Renae) Brown,

many nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles.

He is preceded in death by his Grandpa and Grandma Brown, and

Grandpa and Grandma Johnson.

Father and Mother-in law ElRay and RaKell Titensor, and Tyson Roger

Cazier.

Those wishing to honor Thad may do so through a donation at The Bank of

Star Valley to the account "Thad Brown in lieu of flowers".