Charles R. Brown was a man of unflinching honesty and integrity. He passed away at his home on October 8, 2017 of causes related to Parkinsons disease.
Born in Twin Falls, Idaho on August 25, 1945, his heart was always in Idaho and its majestic mountains and sparkling streams, especially the Stanley Basin and Sawtooth mountains. Although he lived in Salt Lake City for the last 43 years, he was, and always will be, an Idahoan through and through. To this day, he still cherishes the friendships of his childhood and youth. He adored all his cousins and spoke of them often over the years.
As a young man he was a firefighter, a "Hot Shot", with the forest service during the summers between college. That experience instilled in him a healthy respect and love for the outdoors and the responsibility to be caretakers.
Charles attended Northwestern University, University of Oregon, Georgetown University, and the University of Utah law school. He was a member of both the Utah State Bar and Idaho State Bar. Throughout his legal career, Charles received accolades too numerous to list here. Those included President of the Utah State Bar and Utah State Bar's Distinguished Lawyer of the Year. "Charles was especially proud that he spent the last 40 years battling Darth Vader and the evil empire of the IRS. He thought of himself as David with his little sling shot battling the injustice of Goliath."
Charles lived his life to the sounds of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, particularly the final movement: Ode to Joy. He had an ardent love for music and especially opera which grew into a passion as he and his sister, Diana, shared performances together. Charles sought adventure and exhilaration by skiing, white water rafting, and riding his motorcycle. He loved the arts; especially music, film, and literature, watching movies with his grandchildren, and attending rock concerts with his daughters. Charles was so proud of his grandchildren, Graham, Amelia, and Emily. They were the light of his life and he reveled in being with them.
Charles unfailingly attended all his daughters' school performances and school sports events. He regularly took his father and each of his daughters on personal bonding trips, just one-on-one. He called them "Just you and me kid days." They played hard, laughed hard, and loved each other unconditionally.
Charles genuinely respected and delighted in his colleagues at the law firm. He loved going to work and felt so very comfortable there. As his law firm stated when he retired, "Mr. Brown's sage advice, salty personality, fierce loyalty, and warm friendship will be sorely missed." He was widely admired and loved not only for his intelligence and generosity, but also for his quirkiness and wit.
We love him forever. We will miss him always. Words are not adequate. "He was among the finest of human beings."
Charles is survived by his wife Elke, daughters Andrea Brown-Christensen (Kent) and Sydney Jones (Kyle), three grandchildren Graham Jones, Amelia Jones and Emily Christensen, sister Diana Belka (Wayne), and brother Michael Brown (Vivian). He was predeceased by his parents, Max and Elizabeth Torgesen Brown of Twin Falls, Idaho.
We will honor Charles' wishes to be cremated without a funeral service. Please do not send flowers. If you wish, please make a contribution to either the Michael J. Fox Foundation or the Maliheh Free Clinic of Salt Lake City.
