Terry Leon Brown

Terry Leon Brown of Centerville, Utah, unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack on October 14, 2024, while on a walk with the love of his life.

Terry was born on June 6, 1948, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Newel Knight Brown and Marjorie Tame. He loved growing up with his siblings Dennis, Carol and Bruce. His father was supportive, never missing a baseball game in which Terry played, something that Terry mirrored later in life as he raised his children. He had fond memories of his mother telling captivating bedtime stories and teaching him to cook as a young child, enjoyed helping to prepare Sunday dinner and especially loved baking pies. His parents taught him to work and shared their testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel – Terry followed this example and did the same for his family and friends throughout his life.

Terry grew up in Sugar House, with a rich childhood filled with neighborhood exploring, planting his own garden, playing with his two cocker spaniels Corky and Ginger, playing hours of baseball, putting pennies on the railroad tracks and watching the railroad cars flatten them, building go-karts and tree houses, camping with the scouts in the Uintas, Sunday afternoon football games in the street (in the original NFL – Neighborhood Football League), and once attempting to dig a hole to China (he was unsuccessful in this last endeavor). His love of woodworking began early on as he would get scraps of wood from the local lumber store for building projects.

He attended Forest Elementary, Irving Junior High, and Highland High School, graduating in 1966. He was a diligent student, and especially enjoyed shop classes, gym, math, drafting and architectural drawing. In another life, he would have been an architect if only the first year of study was not completely composed of art classes. Ironically, he was an amazing artist. During high school, he fixed up a 1954 Ford and was especially proud of the racing stripes that he put on it. He enjoyed working at his father’s shoe shop in Kearns. He taught himself how to play the guitar and loved playing and listening to folk music. Later in life, he would use his guitar skills and serenade his children to sleep singing “Puff the Magic Dragon” while sitting outside their rooms in the hall. In 1965, he spent a month in Hawaii on a travel Institute Church tour. He had a strong desire to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Due to the Vietnam War, there were government restrictions on how many potential missionaries could serve from any given area at one time and he was not able to receive a call from his home ward. To increase his chances of receiving a mission call, he moved to Hawaii, spent a semester studying at the Church College of Hawaii, and was delighted to receive a call to serve a mission in the Central German Mission. He was proud to be the only missionary in Germany with a flour sifter, carrying on the baking lessons learned from his mother.

His father introduced him to the sport of golf, first as a caddie, and later as a participant. He loved to play this vexing game, and subsequently got his boys hooked as well. They spent many summer days together on the course as a perfect foursome.

He studied at the University of Utah (Go Utes!), and faithfully cheered for the Utes through the years. He wisely taught his children to do the same. In his studies, he explored architecture and civil engineering but eventually settled on marketing, graduating in 1972.

He spent 25 years working as a marketing director at Athletic Bag Company, then pivoted and spent the rest of his working years as a sales representative for Tom Randall Distributing. As a testament to his versatility, talent and hard work, he was able to excel in these very different professions.

He met Harriet Larson while working at Fashion Fabrics in Salt Lake City. Their first date involved watching a friend’s softball game and romantically wandering around the University of Utah campus. Together they decided to change her name to Hatty early in their courtship. They spent about 2 years dating (skiing, Delta Phi Kappa dances, playing games) before getting engaged on the eve of Thanksgiving 1972 and were then married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple on February 26, 1973. They honeymooned in California and Disneyland, the first of many trips they made to Southern California. He was excited to raise a family and recalled these early years as a parent as some of the most interesting in his life. Like most everyone else, he had little idea of what parenthood entailed, but as in most other areas of his life he caught on quickly and excelled. Terry and Hatty were blessed with four children. They have enjoyed traveling together, visiting a variety of places such as Southern Utah, Ohio, Hawaii, Yellowstone, San Francisco, New York, Florida, France, Denmark, Portugal, Germany, and Japan. Terry loved learning about new places, and spent countless hours planning these trips, enhancing his experience of travel as he lived vicariously while learning where he was going and what he was going to do. They have provided a beautiful example of marriage for over 51 years; loving each other faithfully, working as equal companions, cheering each other’s successes, and creating a loving, safe and happy home for their children.

Terry was a wonderful example of service to others. He had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He did his best to follow the example and teachings of Jesus Christ through his life. He cherished his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in a variety of callings over the last several decades. He especially loved serving in the Bountiful Temple over the last 9 years. His creativity and exuberance made him known to many as the best Cubmaster to ever have held that position. He loved working with his hands, spending hours beautifying his yard and cultivating his garden in his “Farmer Brown” hat and creating countless masterpieces out of wood. There was no challenge too big for him to at least attempt to conquer it – he made them seem to be simply opportunities for him to stretch himself and his abilities or learn some new skill. Why pay someone else to do work for you when you could buy a fun new tool and learn how to do it yourself in the process? He used this attitude (and a book from the local library) to figure out how to act as the general contractor when he and Hatty built their house in Centerville. They have been so blessed to live in that same house together for the last four decades.

Terry was known for his quiet, thoughtful approach towards life. He was a builder of ideas, games, and most importantly, people. He was a researcher, a vacation planner, a fact finder, and a fixer. He was a man of habit, often found eating the same meal, in the same place, at the same time. He leaves behind a simple legacy: be content with what you have, never buy something without researching all the options first, and always cut equal slices of brownies for everyone at the table.

Terry is survived by his wife Hatty (Larson) Brown, his children Emily (Gabe) Utley, Jason (Michelle), Tyler (Kristin) and Christopher (Linzi) as well as 15 grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 610 N. Rowland Way, Centerville, Utah. Family and friends may visit Friday, October 18, 2024, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 N. Main Street, Bountiful, Utah, and Saturday from 9:45-10:45 a.m. at the church prior to services. Interment will be at the Centerville City Cemetery immediately following the funeral services.

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and on this obituary page. The live stream will begin 10-15 minutes prior to services and will be posted below.