'Not enough time to prepare': Cheyenne philanthropist is remembered by friends, family

Nov. 1—CHEYENNE — Maurice "Maury" Brown never knew when to take a break.

His limitless work ethic earned him success as both a businessman and philanthropist. Owner of both a liquor store and an oil and gas company in Cheyenne, Brown rarely missed a day of work, according to his 21-year-old granddaughter, Allison Burke.

"He was going to work every day until he was about 88 or 89 years old," Burke said. "He was mad when he couldn't go to work."

Burke was in the room when her grandfather died Monday at the age of 90. Even though his death was not unexpected, Burke said Brown's passing was a hard loss for her and her family.

"You've had time to prepare because he's 90 years old. But, truthfully, there's never enough time to prepare," Burke said. "It's a huge loss for our family, Wyoming and the community in general."

All who knew Brown said he had a genuine desire to help his community, and he was widely regarded for his philanthropic lifestyle. Although he tended to donate quietly, Brown was recognized with a myriad of community service awards, including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Community Spirit Award, the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Person of the Year and as an inductee into the Wyoming Business Hall of Fame.

"He didn't take a lot of credit for what he did," said former Secretary of State Max Maxfield. "He got credit because people realized what he was doing. But he never went out to seek it."

Maxfield was one of the dozens of people who nominated Brown for the WTE Community Spirit Award in 2016. The former secretary of state was in a Kansas City hospital last week and came home late the day Brown died.

Maxfield said he was unaware of Brown's passing until the WTE reached out to him for a comment on Wednesday.

Other former state and current city leaders remembered Brown as a kind, genuine person who left a remarkable impact on the Cheyenne community. Mayor Patrick Collins said it was difficult to count all the dollars Brown had ever donated because he rarely attached his name to it.

"The whole thing about Maury is he didn't talk a lot about what he did," Collins said. "He did things so quietly."

Known programs and organizations that have benefited from Brown's philanthropy include the Cheyenne Family YMCA, Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne, Cheyenne Animal Shelter and University of Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium, which now has a court named after him.

His biggest source of philanthropy, however, was supporting kids.

Brian Tyrrell, president of Tyrrell Chevrolet, recalled one summer in 2008 or 2009 when he and Brown attended the Wyoming Future Farmers of America sale.

"Maury leaned over to me and said, 'Brian, I want you to run me up on every animal,'" Tyrrell said. "He bought 80% of that sale."

Hard worker, humble beginnings

Brown was 9 years old when his family moved to Cheyenne. His parents started a small trading post that consisted of a grocery store, liquor store and hardware store, according to Brown's son-in-law, Cory Talich.

As a kid, Brown helped support his family by shining shoes, selling newspapers and working at his parents' business.

"He cared a lot about his mother and father," Tyrrell said. "He wanted to make his parents proud, even at 90."

When Brown graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1951, he refused to attend college, knowing his parents worked 10-hour days back home.

"I said, 'Mom and Dad, I'm not going to school for three or four hours a day, four or five days a week, while you're sitting here working 10 hours a day, seven days a week,'" Brown told the WTE in 2016. "'I'm just not going to do it.'"

When Brown took over the business, he attached a bar called "Browny's Bar" to the store, until he realized he didn't have much of a taste for bars, Talich said. The small business eventually became what is now Town and Country Supermarket Liquors, located at 516 South Greeley Highway, which is currently run by Talich and his wife.

Talich used to be an assistant principal in Laramie County School District 1 before he switched over to his father-in-law's business. He used one word to describe his experience working with Brown: difficult.

"He knew what he wanted, how he wanted things done," Talich said. "That's how he became such a good businessman."

Supporting kids in the community

All four of Brown's grandchildren played basketball for Central High School. Burke said her grandfather would attend every game, sitting at the scorers table near where their bench was.

Often, Brown would pep talk his grandchildren during the game, telling them "to work hard out there and strive to do better."

"He's always pushing you, telling you that you can do better, even when you feel like you're doing your best," Burke said.

The highest level of education Brown completed was high school, yet he created his own wealth when he "struck gold" with his oil and gas business in the late 20th century, which exists today as Maurice W. Brown Exploration.

Following his enormous success, he made sure his wealth was shared with the local community.

"He never really wanted to see people struggle," Burke said. "He never wanted to see people hungry or struggling to buy clothes or food."

Brown's soft spot was supporting kids, and those close to him say it was a reflection of his own humble upbringing as a child.

"Maury understood what it was like to come from nothing," Talich said. "He wanted to make sure that because he was successful and he had an opportunity to help people, he wanted to do just that."

Maury Brown Fishing Day was an event started by Brown two years ago, hosted on a stocked pond at the Iron Mountain Ranch. The free summer event, open to 300 kids, gave out free T-shirts, fishing poles and a fully stocked tackle box to participants.

"It really touched his heart to have 300-plus kids and their families go out to his ranch," Talich said. "He really liked seeing the kids involved in something like that. I know it was really important to Maury."

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.