JUSTIN PAUL BROWN

JUSTIN PAUL BROWN

     Justin Paul Brown, 46, passed away Oct. 12, 2023, under the care of the VA hospice team in Tomah. 

     He was born Sept. 30, 1977, in Black River Falls (BRF) to Kerry Brown and Debra (Brown) Burgau. As a young boy, you could find him “working” anywhere anyone would let him, playing in the creek, swimming at the downtown pool, building forts in the woods and other neighborhood shenanigans. He attended BRF High School and graduated in 1996. 

     Justin enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduation and proudly served his country, which included one tour in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in honor of his 17 years of dedicated service. While continuing to serve in the National Guard, Justin attended both paramedic and nursing school and went on to become a traveling nurse, taking assignments all over the country where he met a multitude of lifelong friends. 

     Justin had an uninhibited drive for adventure to include kayaking, skiing and traveling abroad and would most likely be found executing these activities with a group of friends wearing one of his many inappropriate T-shirts. Justin had a heart of gold, could make anyone laugh and was loved by all who knew him. 

     Surviving Justin are his children, Channin and Caitlin Smart, and Ella, Tanner and Alexia Brown; his parents, Kerry Brown and Debra (Mike) Burgau; his sisters, Jessica (Pat) Meek and their children Henry, Grady and Lyla; and Laura (Corey) Sahr and their children Jonah and Jack; as well as aunts, uncles, cousins and friends too numerous to measure. 

     Preceding him in death were his grandmothers, Doris Brown and Arlene Hansen; his loving aunt, Judy Hansen; uncles Randy and Ricky Hansen and Ken Brown.

     What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.

~Thucydides

     A Celebration of Life with military honors was held Monday, Oct. 16.