Morrey Brown drowns shortly after leaving for college

[rainbowgirl28]

Morrey just graduated from Kentridge and was going to be a decathlete at Cal Poly.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/breakingne ... 48249.html

UPDATE: Police release name of 18-year-old who drowned in SLO pool
Police identified Friday an 18-year-old Cal Poly student who drowned at a neighborhood pool in San Luis Obispo.

Morrey Brown appeared to have accidentally drowned around 7 p.m. at a private pool that serves the Los Verdes Park neighborhood north of Los Osos Valley Road and South Higuera Street, according to San Luis Obispo police.

Brown had been swimming with friends at the pool but was alone after they left to get ready for the evening. When his friends returned to look for Brown they spotted him at the bottom of the deep end of the pool, police said.

They tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Brown who was taken by San Luis Ambulance to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

Police said they don’t know why Brown, an athlete, died and they do not suspect foul play.

They are waiting for autopsy results to confirm the cause of death and did not see any obvious signs of trauma.

Drugs or alcohol do not appear to a be a factor in the drowning.

- Leslie Parrilla



http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?S=7111296

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo freshman drowns in local swimming pool
Sep 21, 2007 06:40 PM










Friday, September 21, 2007

Reported by: Danielle Grant

SAN LUIS OBISPO

A tragic start to the beginning of a new school year as a Cal Poly student drowns while swimming in a San Luis Obispo pool.

It happened Thursday night around 6:30 p.m. at the Los Verdes Park housing development, just off Los Osos Valley Road.

Roommates of 18-year-old Morrey Brown found him at the bottom of the pool. He was swimming and playing basketball with his roommates earlier in the evening.

Brown was a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as well as a member of the track team.

Investigators are calling this an accidental drowning and say he did not have any signs of injury. Police officers say alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the case.

Investigators hope a pending autopsy will reveal the cause of death.

We will have much more on this developing story here at KSBY.COM as well as on Action News at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00.

[rainbowgirl28]

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local ... 48773.html

Coaches recall teen’s ‘infectious smile’
18-year-old Morrey Brown, a Cal Poly freshman, was discovered at the bottom of a pool Thursday

By Leslie Parrilla

Morrey Brown
Morrey Brown was known as the boy with the celestial smile whose maturity eclipsed his 18 years.

In what police are calling a accidental death, the Cal Poly freshman died about 7 p.m. Thursday after his friends found him at the bottom of a swimming pool in the Los Verdes Park neighborhood in San Luis Obispo, according to San Luis Obispo police.

Brown was rushed to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center but pronounced dead after medical staff tried to resuscitate him, police said.

Brown and a group of friends had been playing basketball when they decided to cool off in the pool in a condominium complex at Los Os-os Valley Road near Higuera Street, according to police.

Others in the group went home and planned to go out later that evening, but Brown decided to stay at the pool by himself, according to police.

A short time later, his friends returned to find him at the bottom of the pool’s 8-foot deep end.

“He had no signs of injury, and it doesn’t appear to be foul play,â€Â

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/story/149426.html

Moment of silence

Prior to the game, Cal Poly held a moment of silence for Morrey Brown, the freshman track and field athlete who drowned in an off-campus pool Thursday.

The 18-year-old Brown, from Renton, Wash., was on scholarship at Cal Poly as a decathlete.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/breakingne ... 52805.html

Memorial planned today for Poly student who drowned last week
The public is invited to a memorial today for the Cal Poly student who drowned last week.

The memorial for Morrey Brown will be at 11 a.m. at the Cal Poly track.

Brown was found by friends at the bottom of a pool at a condominium complex at Los Osos Valley Road last Thursday.

The 18-year-old freshman from Renton, Wash. was on the track team. Brown planned to work in sports medicine after he studied kinesiology at Cal Poly.

The death was called accident by the San Luis Obispo Police Department. An autopsy is pending.

Donations can be made to the “Morrey Brown Memorial Fundâ€Â

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21021944/

Family and friends remember Cal Poly San Luis Obispo freshman who tragically drowned

KSBY-TV
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Reported by: Amber Lee

SAN LUIS OBISPO


A memorial service was held this afternoon for a Cal Poly freshman who drowned a week ago today.

Friends and family remember this young man who touched so many lives in such a short time.

Before the 18-year-old Cal Poly freshmen was laid to rest Thursday in San Luis Obispo, Morrey Brown's friends and family shared a little more about this track athlete at his memorial service held on Cal Poly's track field.

"Hearing everybody's thoughts about him just makes it like well he was a really special person and probably more special in 18 years than most of us are in a lifetime," said Cal Poly's Assistant Track Coach Jack Hoyt.

The college freshmen was found unresponsive last week by his roommates after police say surveillance video shows him swimming laps earlier in the Los Verdes Park Housing Complex's community pool in San Luis Obispo.

About eight of Brown's family members were in attendance during the memorial.

Morrey also known as Mo by his grandmother Maureen says because of the family's religious background in the Baha'i faith, the Kent, Washington native is being buried on the Central Coast.

"You can't bury the person more than an hour journey from where his soul left his body," said Morrey's grandmother Maureen Sullivan.

One-by-one Cal Poly faculty, staff and students who had befriended Brown agreed his infectious spirit and smile will be missed.

"I think he would've touched a lot of lives here and it seems like he's already done it. And he was barely on campus," said Hoyt.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department says toxicology results are pending to determine Brown's exact cause of death.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://media.www.mustangdaily.net/media ... 8514.shtml

Memorial honors life of student
By: Laura Kasavan

Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
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A gentle breeze blew across the field and strains of classical music filled the warm air as members of the Cal Poly community gathered at the track yesterday to honor the life of Morrey Brown.

The approximate 100 attendees included Brown's family and roommates, athletes from the track and field team, and his Week of Welcome group.

Standing in a semicircle, the group faced floral arrangements and a picture of Brown resting on an easel.

Five pairs of his running shoes were displayed to signify his passion for the sport.

Track and field director Terry Crawford said that Brown left a legacy in his brief time as a Mustang.

"We make a commitment as a track team to carry his spirit forward this season," Crawford said.

Of the individuals that shared memories and anecdotes about Brown, all remembered him as having an upbeat attitude about life and a warm personality.

Alivia Brewer, a freshman on the track and field team, said that she loved seeing Brown at practice and around campus.

"He smiled all the time. He smiled every time he was out here," Brewer said. "His smile would light up your whole day."

Sara Klein, another freshman from the team, reminisced about exploring San Luis Obispo with Brown and a trip to Bali's when they first arrived, since both hailed from Washington.

Kinesiology professor Camille O'Bryant said she was privileged to meet Brown and that she had gained an even greater understanding of who he was by spending time with his parents.

"My brief encounter with Morrey was infectious. We were privileged to have him as part of our family even for a short while," O'Bryant said.

Brown planned to study kinesiology and wanted to work in sports medicine after college.

He was the top sprinter at Kentridge High School in Renton, Wash. and was prepared for the track and field season after competing in three decathlons over the summer.

His parents, Jonathon and Cynthia Brown, were presented with track jackets by the team.

His father closed the service by reminding the group that his son loved to laugh and loved to make others laugh too.

"He had a great sense of humor. He was so funny, and kept us laughing," Jonathon Brown said.

The memorial service was followed by a 2 p.m. burial at San Luis Cemetery.

Brown died on Sept. 20 around 6:30 p.m. His roommates Kristoph Becker and Trevor Dardik found him at the bottom of the Los Verdes Park housing development pool.

Steve Crawford, deputy coroner at the San Luis Obispo County Coroner's office, said that Brown's body was released to his family.

Crawford said the office is leaving autopsy results pending at this time and that results will be released in four to six weeks.

[rainbowgirl28]

Posted by Morrey's Mom in the comments to the above article

Morrey's Mom
posted 10/02/07 @ 6:14 PM PST

The response of the people in San Luis Obispo, especially the university and the Baha'i community has been absolutely amazing. It has really helped in this time of grief.

At this time, the cause of death is pending. We will most likely not know for sure for at least a month and a half.

A friend of mine suggested that I post an assignment Morrey wrote as they were reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" in class. Ironically, he wrote it on Baha'u'llah's birthday...

"If you ask the average person how they feel about their death, they will most likely be uncomfortable. The fear in death is fear of the great unknown. As Morrie puts it, "everybody knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently." Morrie believes that some people go about their lives, doing things out of fear. Mitch was afraid of not accomplishing anything before being plagued with disease. Others fear that they will miss out on something and thus must prevent this. We are all victim of this, whether it is hanging with our friends, instead of planning for our futures, or watching a meaningless TV show when we are supposed to be doing our homework. Morrie said, "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live." When you know what you wanted your life to have meant at its end, then you can go about defining that meaning.

When I interviewed my great grandmother, one of the topics being death, she had lost her younger sister, my great great aunt. However, she told me that death is a part of life, and that one's existence does not disappear after death. She believed that people feared death because they did not understand it and that if they read and contemplated more about it that the thought of leaving this world would no longer frighten them. To her, death was a part of nature.

To me, it seems that our culture has taught us to fragment everything that we do. We see life and death instead of a continuance; we see school and home instead of learning. If you have something to die for, you have something to live for. Fear is caused by ignorance, because if we are familiar with something, then we cannot be afraid of it. Therefore, we should understand that, "every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'is today the day? Am I ready? Am I being the person I want to be?'"".

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/182/story/160093.html

Letters to the Editor: Oct. 6
Goodbye to Morrey

A funeral for 18-year-old Cal Poly freshman Morrey Brown, who died in the Los Verdes Park swimming pool on Sept. 20, was recently held at San Luis Cemetery.

His parents, his brother and other relatives came from out of state to say farewell and attend to the burial arrangements. The generous help, support and love extended to them by Morrey’s roommates and friends, staff at Cal Poly and the general public was impressive and moving. Morrey’s brief stay here touched many hearts.

An account has been set up at Rabobank (formerly Mid-State Bank) for those who would like to contribute to funeral expenses. Checks to “Morrey Brown Memorialâ€Â

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.legacy.com/sanluisobispo/Dea ... d=95756562

Morrey Aren Brown
Morrey Aren Brown, born in Spokane, Wash., lived most of his life in the Seattle area, and had just moved to San Luis Obispo on August 23, 2007, to pursue his dreams of becoming an Olympic decathlete and was involved in sports medicine physician by continuing his training and education at Cal Poly. His Bahá'à (www.bahai.org) belief of "excellence in all things" drove him to be a gifted writer, classical pianist, athlete, and artist. His intellect and wisdom were those of someone beyond his eighteen years. He believed in service to humanity and had volunteered for several years at the Nez Perce Reservation in Lapwai, Idaho. Morrey was a "joyful and happy being" whose vivacity inspired everyone with whom he had contact. Still in this world are brother, Ajan; father and mother Jonathan and Cynthia; great grandmother, Theresa Collum; grandmothers Barbara Newman, Maureen Sullivan; Grantie Fa and Nette Lemon; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Although his soul is in the Abha Kingdom, Morrey's earthly remains were interred in the San Luis Obispo Cemetery Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007.

Donations can be made to the Morrey Brown Memorial Fund at Rabobank.
Published in the San Luis Obispo Tribune on 10/7/2007.

[rainbowgirl28]

It's now 2 months after Morrey's death and, like everything, it has become old news. But I said I would post when the coroner's report was released. Of course, it is not old news to us; we are still deeply grieved that our wonderful son is no longer in this world.

The ruling was that Morrey had an arrhythmia due to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) - and, because he was swimming alone, he drowned. Now, although he might have been resuscitated if he were not in the pool, he may not have as well...

There has been tons of video, including pieces of his memorial, posted to his website, along with one of his poems. Feel free to visit www.morreybrown.com.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://media.www.mustangdaily.net/media ... 5707.shtml

Poly student's memory honored through programs
By: Breehan Yohe-Mellor

Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: News
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Morrey Brown

Friends and family of Morrey Brown, the Cal Poly student who was found dead at the bottom of a swimming pool in what police called an accidental drowning last September, have created two programs to honor the memory of the student, athlete, classical pianist, poet and community volunteer.

Brown, who came to Cal Poly last year as a kinesiology freshmen and member of the Cal Poly track team, was a devout follower of the Bahá'í faith, through which he became involved in the Lapwai Project.

After his death, Thom and Judy Rhon, founders of the Lapwai Project, decided to honor Brown and his mentorship in the program by re-naming it the Morrey Brown Project.

Every summer for the past 13 years, the Rhoms take teenagers involved in the Bahá'í faith from Brown's native Seattle to visit a Nez Perce reservation in Lapwai, Idaho where they mentor Native American children from the reservation and the local Boys and Girls Club.

Brown and his brother Ajan spent one to two weeks for three summers working with the children, many of whom confront issues such as racism and alcoholism in the Native American community.

Thom Rhom said he and his wife would honor Brown's memory every time they visit the reservation.

"Each year when we go, we tell the kids about Morrey," he said. "The kids over there loved him. He was just so likeable… they just hung on him. He was just a good soul."

Ajan remembered his brother as the only volunteer more interested in spending time with the Nez Perce than hanging out with the other volunteers.

"Every morning we would be involved in announcements and plan the day's schedule," Ajan said. "They don't get much experience (or) outside influence every day so it's just good for them to see another example. (My brother) was definitely one of the most hands-on (volunteers)."

They also engaged in talent shows, dance workshops and taught basic lifeskills classes with kids ages 6 through 16.

"We teach them how to cook because a lot of those kids, their mom and dad both work and they are home and they have to do it for themselves," Rhom said.

Brown especially enjoyed teaching the kids how to play tennis, basketball and pole-vaulting.

Brown was also honored by his high school in Kent, Wash.

Kentridge High School announced that it would be giving out the Morrey Brown Athlete of Great Character Award in "recognition of a student track athlete whose character and accomplishments, sportsmanship, leadership, citizenship and academic commitment most closely reflects the excellence demonstrated by this exceptional young man."

Brown's mother Cynthia said the school was very careful to give the award out only to students truly deserving of it.

"They will only give the award if the student is truly exceptional," Cynthia said. "There might be a year or so where there is no student that meets the criteria."

Brown was wise beyond his years, according to his father Jonathan, who said that by age 3, Brown had already decided to devote himself to a life of faith and physical activity.

"He was pretty deep for someone that age and introspective; he was the wise one of his peers," Jonathan said. "When we had conversations on different topics of an esoteric nature… I was astonished sometimes that he would just really get it. In some cases I would say 'jeez, you kind of scare me, you're not supposed to get that kind of thing yet.'"

Brown's legacy is already living on in a young woman whom he befriended while she was living on the reservation. She is now going to Dartmouth College on a full scholarship.

"I'm not going to say that you can credit him totally with that," Ajan said. "But I know he did play a major role in her life and definitely inspired her."