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).