Taylor Mark Brown

Taylor Mark Brown, the youngest of four children born to Alyson Evans Brown and Mark Kinnett Brown, passed away on May 14, 2026, at 39 years old from complications related to end-stage kidney failure.

 From the time he was small, Taylor had an appreciation for some of the simplest pleasures in life: helping his grandpa tend the garden, finding a good fishing spot, and being around a campfire with people he loved. That spirit never left him. He was funny, adventurous, and deeply loyal. 

Taylor spent his working life in professional kitchens, and food was one of his greatest loves. He could coax a tonkotsu broth into something transcendent over the course of days, turn out foie gras or caviar on blinis with precision, and then turn right around and tell you the best taco truck in town with equal authority and enthusiasm. 

Every Christmas, he would spend days in the kitchen producing feasts — roast duck breast with potato pavé, braised short ribs with pommes aligot — that his family will never forget. On Mother’s Day last week, we had the incredible gift of all being together one last time. He prepared chicken with saffron rice that was so delicious, with lots of leftovers, that he hoped would give his mom and sisters a break from cooking the following week. 

He loved history, politics, and music — particularly Ryan Adams and Ben Harper — and those who were lucky enough to catch a live show with him are grateful for those memories. He had a gift for friendship too, maintaining close bonds from high school and college throughout his life. In particular, his friend Dave Denson stood by him with a loyalty and devotion that has meant the world to his family, and we are deeply grateful. 

In 2022, Taylor’s kidneys failed, and the years that followed were hard. Dialysis was grueling, and it took from him so many of the things he loved. We are getting so much joy from imagining him finally getting to do so many of the things he missed, like eating potatoes, swimming in lakes, and going on long camping trips without having to worry about dialysis. 

But Taylor still kept trying to find ways to do whatever he could. Last summer, he grew a beautiful garden that he spent hundreds of hours researching, planting and tending. Last summer and fall, he loved taking his nieces and nephews out back to smell fresh herbs and taste tomatoes still warm from the vine. 

More recently, he became consumed with wild turkey hunting — practicing his turkey calls constantly, watching every YouTube video he could, showing up fully to a new obsession the way he always did. This spring, he finally got out into the woods with his friends. They didn’t get a single turkey, but he couldn’t have cared less. Being out in nature with the people he loved was the whole point. 

Taylor also loved his nieces and nephews so much. He loved watching them grow and got such a kick out of all the funny things they said and did. We know he will be watching over them and cheering them on in all they do. 

At the end of his life, Taylor made one last extraordinary act of generosity: the gift of his liver to someone who will now have more time with their own family. His entire family walked alongside him down the hospital corridor to the operating room, where doctors and nurses lined the hall to thank him for his gift. It was a moment that all of us will always hold close to our hearts. We know he would have been quietly amazed and deeply grateful to know the difference he made. 

Taylor is survived by his parents, Mark and Alyson Brown, along with his siblings, Danielle Szasz (Elijah), Scott Brown (Ashley), and Natalie Brown (Darrel), his 11 nieces and nephews as well as the many friends and family members whose lives are richer for having known him. He will be profoundly missed.

We will be holding a private celebration of his life with lots of delicious food and laughter.