Michael Monroe Brown

February 28, 1991 - January 22, 2017

Mike was born in Indianapolis and later attended Indiana University. After graduation, he relocated to Austin then San Francisco and finally to Boston to pursue a career in education technology. He passed away in his home in Indianapolis on Sunday January 22nd, 2017. He was 25 years old.

Mike was a relentless idealist who always pushed himself beyond his limits. He believed in the goodness of humankind and strove to right all that is wrong with our world. He recognized that the efficiency of commerce can be harnessed to change lives so he created his own college major, Social Entrepreneurship, and developed its curriculum from scratch. The major is still offered at Indiana University. He dedicated his career to education technology: first at PenPal Schools then Edmodo and finally at TenMarks Education.

A wrestler throughout his adolescent years, a severe ankle injury turned his sights to dance. He first found his groove in break dance and later discovered Latin partner dances like salsa, bachata, and zouk. He spread his love of dance throughout his community of entrepreneurs in Austin’s booming startup scene. Many Latin dancers in his circle of friends discovered this beautiful art form through following Mike’s uninhibited shimmies at every Latin dance club in town.

Michael made a sincere connection with every person he met and he had an uncanny power to bring together diverse communities to celebrate every joy in life. He empathized with every feeling as if it were his own. When you were hurting, he felt it. When you were elated, his heart shone. When you were afraid, he offered shelter. When he was with you, your existence was validated - because he saw you.

You will not meet another man who wore his heart so bravely on his sleeve and still weathered every blow as if he were clad in armor. He embraced every person for who they were and he was always a beaming force of boundless kindness. If ever anyone was harassed by dark thoughts, he swooped in like a superhero to chase away every shadow.

No matter how much pain he was in, he inspired everyone around him to pursue their dreams even if their starting line was miles behind others’. He intimately knew every taste and texture of struggle like the back of his hand. His daily reality of suffering was his North Star. Everyday, he turned his personal pain into power to remind us that, with grit, we will tip the odds back in our favor.

Michael is survived by his mother, Jennifer Brown, his step dad, Patrick Kelly, his brother, Kevin Wiltz, and his sister, Elizabeth Kelly.

His funeral will be held on Saturday January 28 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 900 E Stop 11 Rd, Indianapolis. His family will receive friends during a visitation that will be held at 1pm and funeral service will begin at 2pm.

A message of condolence may be left at www.familyfuneralcareindy.com