Matthew John Brown

Matthew was a man who loved the outdoors, books, diving into hobbies, and sharing his talents with others. Most importantly, he deeply loved his wife, Vanessa, and his four children, Orrin, Kian, Teagan, and Reagan.

Matthew was born in Santa Monica, CA, on November 15, 1979, to Steven and Robyn Brown. Matthew was one of four children: Christopher, James, and Amy (Johnson).

He was raised from a young age loving being outside. From surfing and camping to hiking Yosemite, Havasupai, Mt. Baldy, The Narrows, and Mt. Whitney, Matthew was always planning that next hiking trip with his dad and brothers. While hiking, Matthew would create his own trails and find hidden gems while exploring those new places. In creating his own trails, Matthew loved hikes that challenged him physically and mentally because the payoff was always the sense of accomplishment, and nothing beat the view from a new hiking trail.

In Vanessa, Matthew found his favorite hiking partner, and together he introduced her to as many of those beautiful places that meant so much to him as he could. As their family grew, Matthew started sharing those same amazing places with them.

Of the many hiking trips he had been on, Havasupai was Matthew’s favorite. In 2019, Orrin was 10 years old when Matthew first took him to Havasupai, and it was four years ago when he then took Kian and his wife. While he instilled in his children a love of the outdoors, Matthew also wanted to teach them the experience of doing hard things.

Growing up in California, Matthew also spent much of his youth surfing with his brother, James, and friends from church. It was also normal to see him surfing in the winter months without a wetsuit because “it wasn’t that cold.” Matthew missed surfing when he moved to Utah.

Matthew also enjoyed mountain biking and snowboarding, which showed his love for being outdoors. While the mountains were where Matthew found peace, he pursued new skills that took him underwater. He studied and was certified as an underwater welder. Matthew eventually took his underwater training and moved to Tonga to become a commercial diver.

Matthew’s faith carried him through many of life’s challenges, and he had a desire to share what helped him with the people in Venezuela as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon returning from his mission, Matthew met and fell in love with Vanessa. They were sealed in the Newport Beach Temple on May 6, 2006.

Matthew took his curiosity for learning new skills and received a bachelor’s degree in biology at California State University at Dominguez Hills. As his family started growing, they made their way to Farmington, UT, where he was a refining chemist at Marathon Oil.

The last few years, Matthew was active in his children’s busy lives. He coached Orrin’s wrestling team, helped Kian with baseball skills, and was always cheering for Teagan and Reagan as they excelled in gymnastics.

Along with his children’s active lives, Matthew also enjoyed playing pickleball, was a licensed drone pilot, loved archery, backpacking, mountain biking, and working on projects on his 3D printer. If you knew Matthew well, you would know that he was an avid audiobook listener. He loved sharing what he was currently reading and was always giving recommendations of books he really liked, which were most of them. He also wanted to know what you were reading, and he would take note of what that was.

“Nerdy” Matthew loved playing Dungeons and Dragons. He also created his own costume of a Jawa, and he belonged to the 501st Legion. His costume wasn’t just any Jawa costume; it was movie set approved (a very big deal!), but what made this project so special to him was that the purpose was to do good things for others, which involved participating in different charity events, mostly those that benefited children in need.

Matthew embraced the life he was given, and he loved with his whole heart.

Please join us for a Celebration of Life on Saturday, September 5, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 347 S. 200 W., Farmington, UT 84025. A viewing will be held prior to the service from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

The ward has provided a link to watch services live: https://zoom.us/j/2455147961?pwd=E7sZAwHcO35SNZO3LFizAa2VlbFWUT.1&omn=95586520739

Zoom Meeting ID: 245 514 7961

Passcode: 212256