On the evening of August 6, 2020, Michael "Bear" Brown, started his FXR for its final ride. As he did every Thursday night, he and his beautiful wife exchanged kisses, as she says, "shiny side up", he replied with, "I dont bounce like I use to!" His daughter in the yard waving goodbye and shouting "have a nice ride with the boys!" Not knowing this would be the final moments he shared with his wife and daughter, he set out and later gained his wings

Around 9:45pm, Michael was headed accident which led to him being flown to the nearest level 4 trauma center. At 11:25pm, He was greeted at the gates by his Grandpa Don, Nanaw Judy, cousin Eli, and daughter Lillian.

Michael was born to Cheri and Alan Brown on June 18th, 1986 in Kennewick, Washington. He was a very happy baby. He was his dad's little door jammer and loved being around his race car. Not long after he began walking, he was on the run all the time. Michael soon became a big brother to twin siblings Ashley and Zachary. Not long after the twins were born, Alan and the kids moved from a toxic enviroment and with the help of a family friend they thrived. Just shy of being 4, Michael became a brother again, but not in a way that you would imagine, as family isn't always bonded by blood but by love. Alan and long time friend, Melanie got married. Melody had one daughter, Marissa, who was very close in age to Michael. In fact, they were nearly 9 months apart from each other in birth. 9 months and two days. They family expanded one more time, when Chris was born 3 years later.

Michael grew up being the protector. He always wanted to make sure his brothers and sisters knew he was there and was going to take care of them. He always made sure the kids were smiling and never stopped laughing. His favorite joke still to this day was one he told his siblings when they were little. "What is invisible and smells like carrots?-Bunny farts!" He loved children and was always great with the 17 cousins he had grown up with. 

Michael loved spending his time outdoors. He loved working on the racecar with his dad and Grandpa James. He also loved riding four wheeler and dirt bikes in the mountains at the family cabin and reunion every year. He loved fishing and hunting with his Grandpa Don. He enjoyed scarying the other kids with spooky ghost stories while on camp trips. And boy, he was a prankster.  He enjoyed reading national geographics and collected them from the time he was 7 until he left for college. He had a drive for athletics, like all of his siblings. Since it was easier to put all the kids in the same sports, they had a team roster they nearly filled for baseball every season. Both Michael and Ashley played catcher and Marissa and Chris were pitchers. Zach enjoyed playing outfit so it was fun to get the kids to play yard ball. They always split teams and had a great time.  He also played basketball and football. Once in High School he found his really passion on the grid iron. He lettered all four years of High School and led the team to State 3 times as a quarterback.

Michaels favorite story he ever told was the annual Baseball vs Softball game in High School. All of the kids played Varsity and were so very competitive. One particular year, he heckled Marissa at bat and Chris struck her out while she was busy talking back to Michael behind the plate. The next inning, Marissa struck Michael out with a High outside curve, she knew he couldn't resist.  The next time Marissa came up to bat, she knew the softball team needed a miracle to win. She was swift and was known for stealing bases. Ashley was a strong hitter and always hit clean up. Marissa took a pitch between the numbers which got her on base. The next batter was struck out and the following batter hit and in field fly. Ash, came to the plate and showed a slap bunt which led to Marissa taking off to second, Michael with quick hands popped up and tossed the ball down to second base but it was just shy of making the tag. Next pitch Chris threw, Ash swung away but missed and Marissa led off to third. This caused a four toss pickle where she ended up rounding third and turning home to try and steal on Michael. In the midst of all of the excitement, she didn't hear coach call her back and she took off with the ball mid flight to Michael at home, without hesitation, she dropped her shoulder and collided with Michael caushing him to drop the ball, which led to the tie. Michael, although though he dropped the ball knew, he couldn't be upset with his sister because she was pushing herself to be better and pushing him as well. Whenever the families come together and talk about old times, this is the story he always brings up. He was proud his family was so strong and supported one another, there was no shame in the fact he didn't make that tag because it was a growing experience. 

After he graduated from school and set off for College, he quickly realized he didn't want to go the college route. He wanted to give back to his community. He enjoyed coaching football from peewees to high school, that's what he did for a few years. During his down time, he traveled. He enjoyed Alaska with his Grandpa Don on fishing trips as a child and set off to see what new adventure he could find. He found himself traveling all over the United States. He visited Hawaii and called it home for a short time. He then came back to Eastern, Washington where he met his wife, Mindy. After a few months, he introduced his girlfriend to his family where they realized they had met each other before as her parents were well known local sports photographers and she usually assisted during team photo sessions and had been to several local games where he played as she was studying to be a sports writer.

In 2010, Michael and Mindy committed their lives to one another in front of their family and friends. They traveled for two years and found a new place to call home in Colorado. He began working for the railyard as track maintenance and Mindy found herself blogging and following her passion for photographer. During their free time, they enjoyed long motorcycle trips and meeting up with his sister half way between Washington and Colorado for bike trips through Yellowstone.  Michael enjoyed riding and tinkering on bikes as much as he could. He enjoyed craft beer and cigars. Mariners Baseball, Sonic Basketball, and was the loudest 12th man you had ever met. It didnt matter if he was in Bronco terrority, you knew he was proud of his Hawks.

In 2012, the most exciting news of a new baby on the way, brought so much joy to the family. Lillian was not with him long but left a special hole in his heart. The loss of his first born was difficult for the family but he knew, there was a reason for everything. Not long after healing from the heartbreaking, news of a rainbow baby filled our hearts. On July 4th, 2014, Maverick Rae was born. Any guesses on who named this wild and free little girl? You guessed it! Michael. From that day on, Michael was putty. That little girl had him wrapped around his finger and he was never going to let her go. 

From Tea Parties to Dress up, to flag football, and trips on the motorcycle, they were two peas in a pod. He lived for his ladies and would do whatever he could to make sure they were taken care of. If you had the pleasure of meeting Michael, you would know he meant business when it came to his family.  That was the same for his friends and the friends that became his brothers.

He became Brother Bear in the local motorcycle community. With his broad skill set and vasts knowledge of motorcycles, he was the go to guy if you needed help. If he saw a motorcyclist broke down on the side of the highway, he ways always sure to stop and offer assistance. He was there for his brothers day or night. He enjoyed his toys and he loved spending time on the open road. 

He put miles on his bike to help our his community in Washington in 2015 when the wildfires struck at the local family cabin. He and his sister rallied together and gathered thousands of dollars in donations, gathered 5 semi trucks worth of supplies, and escorted the delivery to the Okanogan area to local wildfire victims and firefighters. He was proud to help out and would do it over and over again.

Words from  Alan and Melanie- Our boy was the kindest, most loving, and gentlemen man. The loss of a family member is never easy but the loss of a child, when it is not their time is the most difficult thing to comprehend. For we will never truly know why and the asnwers will never come but have faith that one day, we will meet again. He is now our angel and guiding our way. He is with us every day. For he is not gone in spirit. We shall meet again 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.”

Words from Mindy and Maverick- We cannot thank our villiage enough for all the love and support that you have shown us. Cards, flowers, meals, to conversations where there are no words spoken just simple tears and hugs. We appreciate all of you. Each and every last one of you who have been by our side. This will not stop us. We will continue to live our livest to the fullest. We have no choice and he would not want us to be broken and sad. Bear would want us to carry on. Laugh. Enjoy chasing sunsets. Ring games. Donkey kicks. We may have hit another bump in the road but we will continue forward. Mav is strong like her dad and never going to let his light dim or fade. We love you all from the bottom of our hearts and we will raise a glass in his name! 

Due to current restrictions in Washington State, the formal service will be determined at a later date as only small gatherings of immediate household members can gather. 

A Final Ride is being scheduled in the Greater Denver area for the weekend of September 12th, 2020. A route is being determined at this time but most likely the route will be his favorite lap out toward Red Rocks, out 74 and back 70. Kick stands up at 9am with a few  stops along the way to have a cold one and reminsce on the good ole days. Mindy and Maverick as well as some of his immediate family members that can make the drive from Washington will most likely gather. Cars and Trucks are welcome to join but must remain behind the pack for safety reason. A gathering at Robertsons Garage is scheduled around 6pm where there will be a potluck style feed with a hog cook out. 

In Leui of Flowers, please consider making a donation to Moto F.A.M.

Moto F. A. M. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping riders facing life changing injuries after a motorcycle accident. We offer financial support, as well as a network of resources that help riders adapt to life during & after recovery. We also promote and encourage proper motorcycle safety training, by giving riders (nationwide) the opportunity to participate in a class.