Shailar Ward Brown

Shailar Ward Brown lived his life with sharp wit and unyielding conviction. A person of excessive intelligence and lavish talent, he didn't always know where to focus his mind or what to accomplish with his talents. At times his brilliance seemed to be a burden, but there was nothing he couldn't do when he committed to it. Music, coding, systems management, and plenty of things the rest of us never completely understood.

If you ever desired thought provoking or provocative conversation, you could certainly count on Shailar to push you to your limits and take you to task. With close friends, his snarky wit and savage sense of humor would emerge, accompanied by the trademark twinkle in his eye. And on rare occasion, a moment of tenderheartedness would rise to the surface often disappearing before you could truly focus on it.

While a deep thinker and open to the many metaphysical possibilities, Shailar held his faith in Jesus close to his chest. Perhaps he could have helped others by sharing it, but he was always a very private soul. He did look forward to seeing his father again and was ready for the wait to be over. That time of waiting has come to an end for Shailar. The rest of us will have to wait now.

Born in 1971 to Rusty and Karen Brown, lost to us much too early, Shailar is survived by his brother, sister, mother, beloved cousin and her husband, many additional cousins, aunts and uncles, and his three nephews and niece. We will miss Shay and all those lively conversations and outrageous dinner parties which he always brought to life with his presence. God's speed, brother.