Dad

Dennis Ruel Brown, 66, finished his work on earth Wednesday, September 22, at 7:30 p.m. He died as he lived -- working hard in the service of others. Dennis suffered a heart attack while helping one of his sons re-plumb his house in Tonica, Illinois.

Dennis was born on Feb. 15, 1944 in Malad, Idaho, to Leo and Leora Brown. He spent his childhood milking cows, raising grain, fixing machines, wrestling and playing football. He enjoyed good relationships with his three brothers and one sister. He also was always a proud son and loved his parents very much. Though he wasn't a stranger to trouble as a young man, his sense of right and wrong was always strong and bright. He served a 21/2-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile, and while there, he taught and baptized many people.

Once home from his mission, Dennis enrolled at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, in 1967 and there met Laurie Sheffield. The two met in September, became engaged in October and were married in November in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. This swift beginning led to a nearly 44-year marriage that produced four sons, four daughters-in-law and 13 grandchildren.

Except for a brief time working in the insurance industry, Dennis spent his entire professional career as a banker. Though he spent a good portion of those years in managerial and leadership positions, he was at his best as a loan officer, helping farmers and small-business owners in southeastern Idaho. Dennis was regularly recognized for his diligence and determination in doing the best job possible for people. In his career, he worked for First Security Bank, West One Bank, U.S. Bank, and, most recently, Zion's Bank.

Dennis also had a distinguished career in the United States National Guard. Enlisting in 1969, he was commissioned as an officer in 1970. His primary specialty was in logistics and he was awarded commendations for his abilities to plan and execute the movements and organization of hundreds of men and thousands of tons of equipment and food. Dennis always took great pride in his military service and in the experiences and friendships it brought him. He retired as a major after nearly 30 years in the Guard.

Though he had many accomplishments as a businessman and a soldier, Dennis Brown's greatest source of satisfaction in life was his family. He was devoted to his wife, Laurie, and never spared any effort or expense to make her comfortable and happy. He often remarked privately that he felt had "married up" and was lucky to be married to such a good woman.

He was deeply proud of each of his sons and considered them his best friends. Each new daughter-in-law brought him a new friendship and a new opponent in games like Monopoly and Acquire. As tough-minded and rough as Dennis could be, he was at his most tender and loving with his grandchildren. Each of his 13 grandchildren spent time balanced on his knee while he kissed his or her bald head, saying, "You are the best baby in the world. Yes, you are." In addition to his missionary service as a young man, Dennis served in Elders Quorum presidencies, High Priest Group leadership, as a home teacher, as a ward clerk, as a Sunday school teacher and as the instructor of a class on financial health.

Dennis rarely did things for himself. His main hobby was visiting his children and helping repair and improve their houses and their cars. He enjoyed mowing his neighbors' lawns and snow-blowing their sidewalks. He rarely waited to be asked to serve others, but instead simply did what needed to be done without waiting around for praise, thanks, or recognition. He was the very best of men. Those who knew him will miss him profoundly.

Dennis is survived by his wife, Laurie; and his four sons, Jason (Mindy), Mark (Suzanne), David (Melanie) and Daniel (Shalee). His grandchildren are Dylan, Megan, Kate, Jonah, Maryn, Avery, Parker, Brianna, Kyle, Kameron, Naomi, Hadley and Blake.

Dennis was preceded in death by his father, Leo; and his younger brother, Roy.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday Sept. 27, 2010 at the Rigby Stake Center. The family will visit with friends from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Eckersell Memorial Chapel and from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Monday at the church. Burial will be in Pleasant View Cemetery near Malad City, Idaho.

Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.eckersellfuneralhome.com.

I Love These

Star Wars propaganda posters.

I Haven't Done One Of These In A Long Time

1) Do you always answer your phone?
90% of the time, I do, contrary to what my brothers Dan and Dave think. I don't pick up during class or when I'm spending dedicated time with my family. Other than, I'm a regular box o' chatter. Call me up. We'll gab.

2) It’s four in the morning and you get a text message who is it? Nobody I know would text at that hour.

3) If you could change your eye color what would it be? I like the color I've got. Wouldn't change.

4) What flavor drink do you get at Sonic? I don't live close enough to a Sonic for this to be relevant, sadly.

5) Do you own a digital camera? Yes.

6) Have you ever had a pet fish? I killed a series of fish while living in Michigan. I named each one after an 80s hair band member - Tico Torres was first. They all died within days of me getting them. Apparently, I am not good with fish.

7) Favorite Christmas song? God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen as performed by the BNL and Sarah McLachlan. Also, Marshmellow World by Johnny Mathis.

8) What’s on your wish list for your birthday? Hmmm. Amazingly, I haven't thought of it yet. I'm sure I can come with something.

9) Can you do push ups? Yes.

10) Can you do a chin up? Yes. It hurts though.

11) Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Depends… my personal future? Excited. The future of the planet, humans, etc…? Nervous.

12) Do you have any saved texts? Nope. I think an empty inbox is a sign of personal cleanliness.

13) Ever been in a car wreck? Yes, while delivering pizzas in Pocatello, Idaho. I was driving a Geo Metro and yet, miraculously, did not die or even get hurt.

14) Do you have an accent? No.

15) What is the last song to make you cry? Hmmm. A scene from Dan In Real Life made me cry and there was a Sondre Lerche song playing during it. Does that count?

16) Plans tonight? You're reading it.

17) Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Gah. You have no idea. Yeah.

18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Tickets for the Navy Pier Ferris wheel, ice cream, two pillows with an "M" and an "A" on them.

19) Have you ever been given roses? Not that I recall.

20) Current worry? That I haven't really made any measurable progress on my PhD in a year.

21) Current hate right now? The cost and quality of the food at Navy Pier.

22) Met someone who changed your life? Yep. Several.

23) How did you bring in the New Year? I don't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure it involved Suzanne and 7-layer dip.

24) What song represents you? "It's a Long Way to the Top If You Want to Rock and Roll"

25) Name three people who might complete this? SIL Shalee, my brother Dan if he ever blogged, Suzanne.

26) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Must get to laptop. Must write. Must get something done before girls get up in 45 minutes. Gah!

27) If I was 10 yrs younger: I would appreciate my ability to go with less sleep.

28) What is your salad dressing of choice? Italian.

29) What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? The Athenian in Ogden, Utah.

30) What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? Have you seen my post about Chicago Dogs? I'm thinking about them right now. I'm wondering if Suzanne wants to get them for our lunch date tomorrow.

31) What are your pizza toppings of choice? Pepperoni

32) What do you like to put on your toast? Butter and cinnamon sugar.

33) How many televisions are in your house? Three.

34) What color cell phone do you have? Black.

35) Are you right-handed or left-handed? I'm so right.

36) Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Yeah. Do you REALLY want to hear about it?

37) What is the last heavy item you lifted? Parker. When she squirms, her weight increases exponentially. She was about 75 pounds earlier tonight.

38) Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Nope. I have a very thick skull. I get it from my dad.

39) If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Probably.

40) If you could change your name what would you change it to? Major Percy Fawcett.

41) Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Totally.

42) How many pairs of flip flops do you own? One.

43) Last time you had a run-in with the cops? I got pulled over last month and was let go with a warning. Does that count?

44) Last person you talked to? Suzy - but she's sitting right next to me reading over my shoulder as I type this. Does that count?

45) Last person you hugged? Maryn just before bed.

46) Favorite Season? Autumn/ Spring

47) Favorite Holiday? Halloween.

48) Favorite day of the week? Friday.

49) Favorite month? You’re starting to bore me, survey.

50) First place you went this morning? To the basement.

51) What’s the last movie you saw? Juno.

52) Do you smile often? I'm practically Guy Smiley.

Notorious

Dear Film Students,

For future reference, when I assign you to screen a film called Notorious along with a film called North by Northwest and another film called Rear Window, I mean this one:



not this one:



I would have thought this would go without saying but, apparently, it does not.

Sincerely,

Mark

Want to Hear Something Funny?

Last summer, Maryn tried soccer. She worked hard, did her best, and, in the end, just wasn't feeling it. When we offered to sign her up again this year, she just shrugged and said, "Nah." So Suzanne looked around for other things that might be more up Maryn's alley and she found a week-long art camp in Peoria and a week-long acting camp at the school where I teach. Maryn loved both of them and it was really satisfying to see her find something that really lit her up, you know? Sports are the thing here and, while she gamely goes along, it doesn't exactly fill her with enthusiasm.

Anyway, at the end of the acting camp, her teacher announced to his students that IVCC would produce a musical this fall and that there were roles for kids so they should think about auditioning. Maryn took that to heart and asked me if I'd heard anything about auditions - like every day. Finally, they came. Last week, to be exact. Avery, not wanting to be left out of the dramatic action, wanted to go too.

So I took them both on Wednesday afternoon and watched them as they played theater games with a few kids their own age but mostly college kids (several of which were my former or current students). They played the games, sang "God Bless America," had their pictures taken, and learned some dance steps. Avery seemed to have more dance acumen while Maryn's singing audition was really quite strong.

We left and the girls immediately began asking, "So Dad, did we get in?" Wednesday of this week, finally, thankfully, the director put up the cast list and, lo and behold, my two daughters are both on it. I came home and told them and watched them freak out a little with excitement. They're really looking forward to it and I'm really proud of them for going out on a limb and trying something new.

Now, why is this post titled "Want to Hear Something Funny," you may ask. Well, the thing is, the musical is based on the life of Cesar Chavez, the immigrants-rights labor leader, and Maryn and Avery have been cast as his daughters. So my blonde, blue-eyed, pasty, Aryan-looking daughters will be portraying some of these people:



Frankly, I find that hilarious.

I'm sure makeup and temporary hair dye will go a long way but I just think it's funny that two girls with Welsh and Swedish heritage will be portraying Hispanics.

Anyway, the first read-through is next week and then we'll find out about their rehearsal schedule. The play goes on in late October so if anyone is interested in coming to see this opus, consider yourselves invited.

In other news, my story "The Iron Door" received an Honorable Mention in this year's Irreantum fiction contest. This is the same journal that published my story "Cause" a couple of years ago. This year, there were 91 entries so to end up in the top four or five is pretty nice. Hopefully, "The Iron Door" will be published sometime next year and you know I'll let you know all about it when/if it turns up.



On a down note, Suzanne has thrown out her back and is now barely able to move. I've taken the day off so she can have time to recover without having to lift Parker or clean or anything like that. I have Monday off already thanks to Labor Day so it's shaping up to be a very extended weekend. It's supposed to be sunny and around 70 degrees until sometime next week so I'm as happy as a clam. No work, beautiful weather, a recognized story, and two little Hispanic daughters - life is pretty good.