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Ralph Brown Jr.

Dec. 5, 1947-May 19, 2017

Ralph R. Brown Jr., 69,

Ray, formerly of Berthold,

died Friday, May 19,

2017, in a Minot hospital.

Ralph was born on De-

cember 5, 1947, in Minot

to Ralph Sr. and Marlayne

(Porter) Brown. He was

raised and educated in

Berthold, graduating from

Berthold High school in

1967.

During his younger

years, Ralph assisted his

father with the operation

of Browns Service in Ber-

thold. He was united in

marriage to Marlene

Hornberger on September

21, 1968. They made Ber-

thold their home until

1980, when they moved to

Ray. He owned and

operated Ralph’s Standard

Station from 1980 to 1990.

He had also worked at

Gratech of Berthold for a

number of years.

If you knew Ralph in

his younger years, you

know that he was an

amazing basketball player

that was always in foul

trouble, loved to drive

fast, have fun and in get

into a little trouble. He

started dating Marlene

when he was 15 and they

have been together ever

since. A total of 53 years,

with 48 of them married.

If you knew Ralph, that

makes Marlene a saint.

If you knew Ralph, you

know he loved to hunt

and fish. He could see

better without binoculars

than he could with. He

also had a weak stomach.

So, whoever he was hunt-

ing with had to clean it

for him.

If you knew Ralph, you

know that he has been a

salesman his entire life

and it was one his greatest

passions. He loved to

travel the country side

and look for deals. His

favorite part was wheeling

and dealing and selling

his latest purchase to

somebody else. If any-

body ever needed help

finding that one hard to

find item, they knew who

to call and Ralph would

find it for you.

If you knew Ralph in

his later years, you know

that speed was no longer

his need. He loved to

drive around with his

friends and they never

went anywhere too fast.

He could be found driving

around Ray in his

“newest, good deal” of a

vehicle.

Ralph’s greatest pride

and joy was his

grandkids. He made sure

that he was the one to buy

them their first bike, first

gun and first car. He also

drove what he called “my

school bus route.” Every

morning he picked up his

grandkids before school

and any kid that needed a

ride along the way that

day. He was really look-

ing forward to driving the

triplets to kindergarten

next year.

His loving family in-

cludes: his wife of 48

years Marlene, Ray;

daughter, Mindi (Jordan)

Brown, Berthold; son,

Marty (Kristine) Brown,

Ray; ten grandchildren,

McKenzi, Dalton, Daw-

son, Dylan, Kamryn,

Kutter, Kash, Kolter, Kase

and Layni; siblings, Barb

(Paul) Zuther, Harvey,

Maylynn (Knute) As-

mundson, Granville, ND,

Eugene (Pat) Brown, Ross,

ND, Dan Brown, Seattle,

WA, Pat Olson, Palermo,

ND, Diane (Rick) Odegard,

Grand Forks, ND, Susan

(Tim) Thoreson, Willis-

ton, ND, and Timothy

(Robin Smith) Brown,

Powers Lake, ND; along

with numerous nieces,

nephews and cousins.

Ralph was preceded in

death by his parents, in-

fant son, Lynn and broth-

ers, Michael and William.

Graveside Service:

Thursday, May 25, 2017,

at 1:00 p.m. at Wildrose

Cemetery, Berthold.

Visitation: Wednesday,

May 24, 2017, from 3:00 –

6:00 p.m. in Thomas Fam-

ily Funeral Home, Minot.

Those wanting to sign

the online memorial regis-

ter or share memories and

condolences are invited to

use the expressions of

sympathy section at

(www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com).