Kevin Brown

Co- Founder/CEO

Kevin Brown began his career in funeral service in 1991, when he started working at Chapel By The Sea in Fort Bragg, California.  After two years of working in the industry, he knew it was more than a job  it was a calling.  He graduated from San Francisco College of Mortuary Science as a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer, working in California and Nevada until he relocated to Colorado.  He worked at funeral homes on the Front Range and the Western Slope.  And, while in Glenwood Springs, Kevin was also appointed as Deputy Coroner in Garfield County. 

Kevin and his wife Sheila enjoy traveling and spending time with their children and grandchildren.   As a professional singer, Kevin has won awards, recorded his music  and delighted the community with his wonderful voice. 

Kevin loves people and is passionate about helping them during their time of loss.  For years, his dream was to have his own funeral establishment where families could choose simplicity without compromising dignity.  Where funeral merchandise and services are affordable to everyone, and where customers are treated like family. 
Kevin is proud to offer Western Colorado Brown’s Cremation & Funeral Service Inc . 

Sheila Brown - Retired

Co- Founder/President

Sheila Brown is a native of Grand Junction.  She began her legal career as a Division Clerk for the 21st Judicial District of Colorado, and served over 20 years. 

Sheila’s ability to inspire, motivate and build confidence in others catapulted her into a successful 30 year marketing career with an international catalog company based in the U.S.   

Friends often praise Sheila for her abilities as a homemaker, interior decorator and candy maker extraordinaire. But, she would say her biggest accomplishment is being a wife and mother, and her greatest joy is being a grandmother.  Her cup overflows. 

Jay Wilson

General Manager

We proudly present Jay Wilson, General Manager of Brown’s.  Jay’s area of responsibility is to oversee everyday operations of the Funeral Home and Care Center, staffing, inventory, and automobiles.  In addition, Jay makes funeral arrangements and is licensed to sell PreNeed insurance.

 Jay was born and raised in Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Economics. During his professional career, he owned and operated his own furniture stores throughout Arizona, worked for large corporations, and later became the Regional Manager of a franchise group overseeing 40 stores in six states. All told, he has managed over 1,000 people and has “semi-retired” twice.

 Married for over twenty years, Jay is the father of two. He enjoys listening to a broad spectrum of music, especially Big Band sounds.  In his leisure time, Jay and his family like seeking out the ghost towns of Colorado and exploring the most remote places of the state.

 Restaurants are no match for Jay. The highlight of his weekend is being in the kitchen.  He searches for recipes from all over the world and turns out delectable ethnic creations for his family.

 Jay is a direct, no-nonsense kind of leader.  He is proud to be an active member of our local community, thrives on networking in social and civic groups, and participation in charitable causes.  We happily welcome Jay to our team.

 

 

 

 

 

Andrea Wilson

Office Manager/ Funeral Director

Brown’s proudly introduces Andrea Wilson, Office Manager.  Originally from southern California, Andrea and her husband, Jay, have lived and worked in various parts of the country –most recently Arizona.

Never afraid to take on a challenge, Andrea set out to be a Large Animal Veterinarian.  At the time she was taking her college courses, she was also training and showing Arabian horses.  Her love for animals soon became obvious when she had collected enough orphaned animals to open a petting zoo!

 When she and her husband became involved in home furnishings, Andrea changed her college major from Veterinary Science to Interior Design.  The couple successfully owned and operated four furniture stores in Arizona.

 She still enjoys working with home décor, by making plaques and signs with reclaimed wood.  Most of all, she enjoys spending time in beautiful Colorado with her husband and sons, Max and Brodey.

 Andrea’s kind spirit, enthusiasm, and compassion align perfectly with Brown’s values of dedication to our customers and staff.

 

Thomas Walton

Funeral Director/Embalmer

Brown’s Cremation and Funeral Service is delighted to welcome Thomas Preston Walton, III to our staff.Growing up in Arlington, TX Thomas was very empathetic, often expressed compassion for others and was an exceptionally good listener.  He always knew he wanted to help people.  Attending his grandfather’s funeral became a pivotal time in his life.  Expecting the worst, he remembers how much better he felt after seeing his grandfather’s body in the casket. He watched friends and other family members show the same positive reaction at the viewing.  At the funeral service, he witnessed the caring attentiveness of the professional funeral directors.At age 13, he announced to his mother he wanted to be a funeral director, and had her take him to the local Funeral Home to meet the funeral director there.   He learned exactly what was required and was determined that someday he would go to Mortuary College.Thomas was a good mortuary student and received an award for outstanding attendance.  He graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in 2003.  He began his mortuary career in Glenwood Springs, CO where he served as a funeral director and embalmer.  He was also Deputy Coroner of Garfield County.  Helping families through the difficulty of losing a loved one is a passion that fulfills him.  Thomas is an outdoors enthusiast who enjoys hiking, four wheeling, camping and boating.  He especially delights in metal detecting which has yielded many treasures.  He also likes working on old cars.  But, more than anything, Thomas is a devoted family man who enjoys spending time with his wife, Misty, and their son, Caden. 

Doug Thomason

Funeral Director

Douglas Thomason had been helping us nights and weekends, and found the work very rewarding. When asked to become a permanent member of our team, he “came out of retirement” and joined us at Brown’s.

 A Colorado native, Doug grew-up in Denver, relocated to Grand Junction and graduated from Mesa State College with a degree in business management. He was employed as Sales Manager in various types of businesses; Travel, Moving and Storage, and Communications. His extensive background interacting with people of all ages, was the perfect segue to serving our client families.

 Doug’s kindness and ability to motivate people, enables him to help others reach their best potential. A dedicated advocate for the people of the Grand Valley, Doug ran for office and served on the Grand Junction City Council.  Also bringing him a great deal of pleasure and sense of accomplishment, is being called “Coach”. Doug has coached elementary school, middle school and high school youth sports for over 35 years.

 Doug stands out in a crowd for many reasons and at seven feet tall, he is unofficially the tallest person in Grand Junction.

 Doug enjoys four wheeling and camping throughout Colorado.  Husband of Cari, and father of four, with two children at home, he loves being fully involved with his kids and all of their activities.     

Katharina Morrison

Funeral Director

With great pleasure,  we introduce Katharina Morrison.

Born in Switzerland and being a world traveler, Katharina has a multitude of cultural experience.  In addition to English, Katharina speaks Swiss/German, Italian and French.  During her global travels, she gained intimate wisdom of foreign lands and people by train-travel,  bicycling and backpacking.

 Throughout her professional life, Katharina’s focus has been on helping people.

She has served as a catering and event coordinator, assisted the school district with Special Education, worked at the Grand Junction Visitor Center, worked at an Assisted Living and Memory Care facility all while serving on several committees.

 Katharina loves traveling, cross country skiing, dog obedience training and spending time outdoors in beautiful Colorado with Randy, her daughter, son and two dogs.

 A love for people, and dedication to serve are qualities required for assisting families at Browns.  Katharina exemplifies those qualities and we welcome her to our team of professionals.

Alexis Shank

Administrative Assistant

We are proud to introduce Alexis Shank who joined the Brown’s team in June of 2021.  As an Administrative Assistant, she supports the Funeral Home, our directors, and the management team.  With her strong compassionate personality and a keen attention to detail Alexis has become an integral part of serving the families we care for.

Alexis is a native to Grand Junction and comes from a family of 5 siblings.  She takes pride in her strong family ties.  Alexis’ hobbies include painting and drawing, spending time in the outdoors, reading mystery and fiction and of course sharing her free time with her adorable and spunky pug Cleo.

Alexis has had an interest for the Funeral Industry since a young age and can easily imagine herself furthering her career into funeral directing and planning.  Alexis’ willingness to always lend a helping hand to those who may need it and her ability to make a positive impact on people are what make her a natural fit for her position.

Richard White

Crematory Assistant

We are proud to introduce Richard White who joined the Brown’s team in 2019.  As a Funeral Assistant, he supports the Funeral Home and Care Center with his attention to detail and has become an integral part of our crematory operations.

 A native of Colorado, Richard was born in Denver and graduated from Littleton High School. He spent most of his life on the Front Range, previously working in auto mechanics and the medical oxygen business.

 Richard is a quiet man who values solitude and a peaceful existence. Taking advantage of our beautiful state, Richard and his wife, Sheri,(previously a Brown) together with their three children, Michael, Jeremy and Danielle, have spent many happy times fishing, hunting and camping.

 Richard is kind, focused and dedicated.  He credits his dad who instilled his meticulous work ethic of “always doing the right thing.”

Pat Walsh

Pre-Need Counselor

Pat’s dedication to serving others began as a Police Officer near Cleveland, Ohio.  Eventually the call of the Pacific Ocean brought Pat and his young family to California.  Pat then spent more than thirty years helping the community and people of Santa Barbara with their insurance needs as well as singing Bass with an award-winning Men’s Chorus.   Eventually Pat and his wife followed their son and his family to Grand Junction.  They have enjoyed the city and the many friendly people who have welcomed them.  Pat is honored and excited to be part of the Brown’s Cremation and Funeral Service family.  His dedication to serving and helping others continues as Brown’s Pre-Need Specialist.

Randy Krause

Care Team

Brown’s is proud to introduce Randy Krause, a member of our

Care Team. Because of his love for people, Randy is privileged to help families during such a difficult time. 

 Randy comes to us from a diverse background.  Having grown up in Michigan and working in the auto industry, he moved to Florida where he retired from CenturyLink.

 Upon relocating to the Grand Valley, he was awarded a fulltime opportunity with Community Hospital where he is the Director of Volunteers – a most rewarding and fulfilling position.

Randy visits his two daughters and grandson in Florida as often as possible. He’s an avid golfer, enjoys the beach, hiking and spending time with Katharina.

As a cancer survivor,  Randy lives every day with hope in his heart:

That every sick person will be well,

That every sad person will find happiness again.

Abram Sanchez

Pre-Need Counselor/ Care Team

With pleasure, we introduce Abram Sanchez, a member of Brown’s Care Team.  Abram considers it an honor to connect with families at such a tender time.

 His love for people and wanting to help them is a quality he developed while working at his father’s restaurant.

 Abram is a fulltime student at CMU majoring in Mechanical Engineering.  He especially enjoys his math and physics classes and has aspirations of eventually acquiring a position with Lockheed Martin or a similar corporation.

 Abram loves coaching soccer, camping, hiking, spending time with his girlfriend, Lisa and his German Shepherd, Django

Brandon Alvelais

Pre-need Counselor / Funeral Assistant

With pleasure, we welcome Brandon Alvelais, to our team of funeral professionals.

 When Brandon was an Emergency Medical Technician,  he often found himself consoling grief-stricken relatives when a loved one had died. Later,  he worked for a mortuary transport service and considered it an honor to be placed in that position of trust. He soon realized he was suited to serve people at such a difficult time and decided on a career in funeral service.

 Brandon has worked for a mortuary transport service, with a coroner’s office as a forensic technician, and was a funeral home crematory operator.  With Brandon’s work ethic, integrity and attention to detail, he is a perfect addition to our team.  He will also be licensed to sell pre-need insurance.

 In Brandon’s younger years, he was an avid musician who played drums and bugle, taught high school students how to play the instruments, and traveled throughout the country in Drum & Bugle Corps competitions.

 Originally from Sacramento, and after living in Las Vegas for a few years,  Brandon and his wife, Amanda, along with their cat “Kitty” have relocated to Fruita, Colorado to be near family.

 Brandon likes to hike, camp, hunt and fish, but most of all he loves donning his “Home Chef” apron and turning out a weekend delectable.

 

 

 

Jeanie Hendricks

Funeral Director Emeritus

Jeanie’s career in funeral service has spanned decades. She has proudly served families in Pennsylvania, California, Arizona, Colorado, incorporating invaluable experience in multi-traditions, rituals and cultures. As a graduate of Cypress College of Mortuary Science and licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer, Jeanie is also licensed to sell PreNeed Insurance specific to the Funeral Industry. 

In our ever changing society with increasing popularity of cremation, Jeanie’s forte is educating families in, what often times, is an unfamiliar process. She started and operated Mariposa Gardens, a successful cremation facility in Arizona and was a featured speaker at an annual CANA Convention, “Cremation Association of North America.” 

No two families are the same; each has different wants and needs. Jeanie’s gentle explanations and presentation of options, assures each family is served according to their wishes and unique situation.

Paxton Cambridge Brown

Comfort Canine

Meet Paxton Cambridge Brown, our  K-9 staff member. This handsome chap is a Goldendoodle, which is a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle. They are known for their silky fur and to be hypoallergenic.

Despite his young age (born November 8, 2018) he’s instinctively fulfilling his job description as Funeral Home Comfort Dog. His stable temperament and easygoing personality often give way to bouts of pure and joyful “puppy exuberance”. Paxton loves to play.  Large, plush, squeaky toys are his favorites. As he developed his knack for “rapid fire” squeaking, he soon discovered the best time to show off his skill is when Dad is on the phone!

His keen attraction to water was obvious when he tried to swim in his water dish. He loves baths in the big tub and happily dips under water to retrieve his toys. But, the best part of bath-time is cuddling with Mom on the couch as he dries.

Paxton is working with a trainer to learn commands and refine his behaviors. But, his success as a comfort dog is due more to his personality than his training. Emotional support and comfort dogs like Paxton intuitively identify people who are struggling with anxiety and grief. Paxton’s selective breeding, tender eyes, and loving personality make him a perfect addition to Brown’s team of professionals.

Sophie Girl (Deceased)

Emotional Support

Sophie was our 12 year old Golden Retriever/ Lab mix.  She’s was emotional support dog with an amazing temperament and seems to have had a keen sense for those who were grieving.  We had often seen her go to the person who is visibly hurting and lay her head in their lap, and for a few brief moments, take their mind off of their current situation.  She absolutely loved being here at work.   You’d find her making her way through the funeral home, bringing a smile to all who came in contact with her. It wasn’t really our intention to have her at the funeral home, but she was such a comfort to our entire staff and to the many families we cared for.  She had become quite the little celebrity and a fixture here at the funeral home.  We often had people come in and ask for Sophie because they’ve heard about her from others.  We understand that no one cares to enter a funeral home, but unfortunately there comes a time when most of us will be faced with that task of planning a funeral.  Our goal is to make that experience the best it can possibly be, and while you’re here we invite you to get to know our newest furry family member Paxton, Sophie's little brother We know you’ll love him  We do!

David Botruff

Funeral Director, Embalmer, Crematory Manager- Emeritus

David Botruff received his degree in Mortuary Science from Southern Illinois University in 1981.   He has been a skilled and compassionate funeral director, embalmer and cremationist for well over 30 years.

Always ready to serve, David was a multi-year member of the Rock Island County Coroner’s Disaster Response Team in Illinois and also an active member of the Funeral Director’s Association.  

Additionally, David has served in the Lions Club and volunteered with the Salvation Army during the Holiday Season.  He is especially proud of the time he spent working with persons with developmental disabilities at the Grand Junction Regional Center.

Above all, David credits his close-knit family as the key to his success. He is dedicated to his wife of 41 years, 5 wonderful children, 13 amazing grandkids and 2 delightful great-grandchildren.

We are happy to have David at Brown’s Care Center, where he oversees the crematory, embalming facility and refrigerated care unit.