Rich Brown passed away on February 23, 2017 at Cottagewood Senior Community after a courageous battle with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA) a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.

Rich was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin to Tony and Martha (Weichert) Brown on August 22 ^nd , 1940. He graduated from Aquinas High School in 1958. He joined the Army that summer and was stationed in El Paso for six months and remained in the Army Reserves for six years. Upon returning from Texas, Rich attended Milwaukee School of Engineering which led to a thirty-two-year career at IBM. On February 24 ^th , 1962 he married Eileen (Marco).  They had two children Rebecca (Becky) Huse and Robert (Bob) Brown.

Rich was a man of many talents. He loved to fish, hunt, golf, ride motorcycle, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, play racquetball and cards. He passed his passion for these activities on to his children and grandchildren. During his years at IBM, Rich traveled to many interesting places among them were Italy, Germany, England, Switzerland and Japan. He enjoyed the people and experiences immensely. After retiring at a young age, Rich and Eileen enjoyed living on Agate lake in northern Minnesota in the summer and on the golf course in Pharr, Texas during the winter. Rich became a golf smith, served in leadership positions in his golf communities and the Lions Club, worked as a consultant for Magnum Machining, became a wine connoisseur and maker, and developed into a fine wood carver.

Rich was a member of Christ the King Church in Byron, had a deep faith in God and, was thankful for all that he was given, especially his family and friends. Rich is survived by his wife of fifty-five years Eileen, his daughter Rebecca of Byron, his son Robert (Teresa) of Byron, his granddaughter Danielle (Tony Bellacero) Huse of Duluth, his grandsons Ricky Brown and Nick Brown both of Byron, his sister Barbara (Palle) Larsen of Ohio, brother David (Barb) of Arizona, sisters-in law Kathy Self of LaCrosse, Rita (Bill) Clark of Minnesota City, Gayla Marco of Wausau, brothers-in-law Dick (Amanda) Marco of Holmen, Bob Self of LaCrosse and many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews and life-long friends.

He was preceded in death by his infant sister Theresa, his parents, his mother- and father-in-law Bill and Leona Marco, his son-in-law Kent Huse, his sister-in-law Marilyn (Marco) Hein, and his brother-in-law Bill Marco Jr.

Per Rich's wishes, his body was donated to the Mayo Clinic in hopes of finding a cure for Alzheimer's. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center or to Cottagewood Senior Communities which provides quality care to Alzheimer's patients. Rich's family extends their gratitude to the nurses and staff at Cottagewood as well as the staff from Seasons Hospice for their compassion and kindness towards Rich and his family.

A Memorial Mass officiated by Father Paul Surprenant will be held for Rich on Saturday, March 4 ^th at 11am at Christ the King Church (202 4 ^th St. NW Byron, Mn). Visitation will begin one hour before the service at the church. Following mass, a celebration of Rich's life will take place at Johnny Mango's Catering and Event Center (505 Frontage Rd NW, Byron).

Byron Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.  Online condolences are welcome at www.byronfuneralhome.com