Thomas "Tony" Brown, born on December 15, 1947, in Wausau, Wisconsin, died December 24, 2024, in his hometown. He was 77 years old at the time of his death, when he was ultimately taken out by "a little bit of who, and a little bit of what." Tony was an iconoclastic schnook who lived a life of rich experiences with a zeal unmatched by most.

Tony was the son of John and Elaine (Schneck) Brown. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother and sister-in-law, Timothy and Barbara Brown.

Tony is survived by his significant other, Kari Goudin, who brought joy into his later years. He leaves behind his sons, John (Yasamin Aftahi) Brown and Matthew (Kristy SeBlonka) Brown, and siblings Patrick (Susan) Brown, Kathy (Vern) McElhaney, and Michael (Jamie) Brown.

Tony was a charming guy and luckier in love than most. While not a traditional romantic, he married three times. First to Sally Topinka, the mother of his two sons. Tony expressed his sincere appreciation to Sally and her second husband Wayne McCaffery for their excellent job raising the boys.

Tony later married Autumn Sobczak and Kathy Wilson. While his marriages defined chapters of his life, Tony also considered various other remarkable women "wives" over the years, including Judy, Jan, Yolanda, and Dawn. Whether through cohabitation, building projects or other connections, Tony dove into relationships headfirst and with enthusiasm.

After a somewhat reluctant beginning to his education at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Tony completed his degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. This foundation paved the way for a career as a high school math teacher, where he imparted knowledge to countless students in various schools across Wisconsin, Idaho, and California. Later in his career, Tony would earn a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Idaho.

A highlight of his personal and professional journey was the five years he spent teaching math in the United Arab Emirates in a junior college setting. Tony embraced the many, sometimes surreal, multicultural experiences that came with being an expat in the UAE in the 90s. Whether playing glitterati bridge at the Intercontinental Hotel, adventuring out to Oman to take a dip in a wadi, sleeping on the beach in Khor Fakkan, watching the world's best golfers descend on the capital city of Abu Dhabi, attending auto or military shows in Dubai, or eating shwarmas from a roadside restaurant.

When he wasn't teaching, Tony loved building. Over the course of his life he built six homes and remodeled several others, mostly in the central Wisconsin area, though his largest project was a 4,000-square-foot single family home he built in Pullman, Washington. Tony's style was as unique as it was resourceful, his material choices often as influenced as much by the clearance aisle as any overarching aesthetic vision.

Tony had a lifelong love of golf, which co-mingled with his life-long love of a good deal. Whether he was sneaking onto the course as a kid or stockpiling clubs as an adult, Tony loved the game. Tony spent more time in the woods than the fairway, not necessarily due to his shot, but because that's where you could shag balls from. Tony won the B-flight in the 2014 Portage County Hmong Association golf tournament, a trophy he proudly displayed in his home.

Tony loved playing duplicate bridge. He developed his own bidding system that consisted of aggressive pre-empts, strong twos, and transfers. The strong two bids, based off of Goren's losing trick count system, were his favorite. He loved that opening two allowed his partner to instantly raise to slam. "The key is to make positive bids that are easily understood. Positive information is far better than ambiguous information."

Tony loved reading, mostly non-fiction, and loved a good conversation. If he could bend someone's ear about a topic in a reciprocal exchange and lend them some reading relevant to the topic, he was happy. He couldn't understand why people weren't more well read and conversational, but he wasn't too precious or pretentious about it; he loved movies and bought countless DVDs of anything and everything.

Tony loved live music of all sorts, but had a particular love for blues music and was a proud board member of the Great Northern Blues Society. He enjoyed volunteering for and attending their events.

His love for golf, bridge, and the blues was matched by some of his quirkier interests, such as drawing architectural plans for the best triplex you haven't invested in yet, wheeling and dealing on new cars, and honing his unique fashion sense typified by bright colors.

Tony's family wishes to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Amy Kurth and the palliative medicine team at Wausau Hospital, who provided a much-needed island of sanity. Thanks also to Danny and Paul for sharing some quality time with Tony in his final weeks.

In honor of Tony's generous spirit, the family kindly requests that any memorial donations be made to Doctors Without Borders or the Wausau Free Clinic. Tony gave to many causes but these two were especially dear to him.

A private family event will be held. His life was a reminder to live life fully and brightly. Tony Brown will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who had the pleasure of knowing him, including those mentioned above as well as his "intellectual brothers" David, Billy, Stevie, and Mikey Onheiber; his "Mexican family" Raul, Romero, and Rene; longtime friend Richard Leonard; Mac and the crew at Krueger Floral; Mike Tatro and the folks at the Blues Society.

Tony Brown, the world is a far less interesting place without you.

Mid Wisconsin Cremation Society is assisting family at this time. Online condolences may be expressed at MWCS.WS