March 30, 1951-April 2, 2026

Larry Dee Brown, beloved husband, father, brother and friend, passed away on April 2, 2026, in Erda, Utah, after a brief battle with cancer. He was born on March 30, 1951, in Murray, Utah, to Doug and Bee Brown of Riverton. He was one of seven siblings and was the oldest boy among two brothers and four sisters. Larry graduated from Bingham High School in 1969 and married his high school sweetheart, Deborah Ann Bluemel of South Jordan, on June 4, 1970. They were married for almost 56 years.

Larry graduated from the University of Utah in 1973 with a degree in Business and Economics. He started his career at Century Equipment, working in the parts room part-time. He started working at Cate Equipment Company in 1977 and spent the next 25 years working there. He moved to Wheeler Machinery as their Caterpillar Paving Products sales rep in 2001, until he retired in 2017. He loved all things paving.

He also loved giving back to the community and donating his time, and he held numerous leadership positions in both commercial and community capacities. His garden was his pride and joy, and if you knew Larry, you probably received a watermelon or a zucchini at some point along the way. Larry loved life and would talk to anyone. If you met him and he liked you, you would be considered a friend forever, but there was no one he loved more than his four grandkids.

Larry is survived by his wife, Debbie, his daughters, Shelly Strahan (Michael) and Jo Watterson (Brady), as well as his four grandchildren, Wyatt and Jake (Shelly) and Beau and Oaklie (Jo). He is also survived by six of his seven siblings. He is preceded in death by his parents, Doug and Bee, as well as his older sister, Paula Noorda.

All of us here at UAPA — staff, Board of Directors and members — will hold Larry’s family in our thoughts and prayers. As we do, we’ll give Larry the last word:

“I’ve had a wonderful life and career. Me and Debbie had a good run for 55+ years. Let’s just remember the good times and fun we had over the years. I want to thank my good friend and partner at Wheeler, Aaron Venz, for his friendship and help over the years. We traveled a lot of miles together and had a lot of fun and hard work to build our legacy at the Cat store. I can’t wait to unite with my Dad and Grandpa Ollie. I hope they realize how much I respected and admired them. I leave behind my legacy: my two wonderful daughters and four grandkids. I hope they realize how proud I was to be their Grandpa.

Sorry, but I have to leave now. Got a meeting with St. Peter. I guess I’ll finally find out which button on the elevator to push, up or down.

Love, Larry.”