In Loving Memory

Brandon Kartchner,

my big brother, my friend, my example.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

--Abraham Lincoln

{I'm sure you will all agree that he has a contagious smile.}

For those of you who haven't heard, my brother Brandon unexpectedly passed away last Wednesday. Words can not even describe the sadness, the pain, and the emptiness that is left with his loss. I know this is going to be hard for me to write, but I really want to share what an amazing person my brother is and what he was to me personally. He is a man of many talents and someone I will ALWAYS look up to.

When it's hard for me to find words, I find pictures. These are few of many pictures that when I look at, will remind me of my love for Brandon and the experiences we shared.

I have lived just a few blocks from Brandon for the last four years. When Brandon graduated High School he moved to Logan and planted roots here. He was one of the few of us siblings that moved out and never moved back home. He was very independent. Him and his twin brother Ben are four years older than me, so between him graduating and moving out, then me graduating and moving around, it was soooo great to finally be close to him again. I am extremely grateful for ALL of the years I have had Brandon in my life, but especially grateful for the last four years that I have lived so close!! Three of those years have been my married life. Brandon and Couper were great friends and spent countless hours together joking, talking cars, working on projects, BBQing etc. His absence will be noticed daily, but his influence and example will also be looked to daily.

{Me with my brothers on my wedding day.}

*I will always remember my wedding day for obvious reasons. But I will also never forget a very special experience with my brother that is too personal to share. Thank you Brandon. I love you.

*I will miss Brandon's funny faces and expressions (thanks Ben Fairbank for a perfect impersonation of Brandon's humor that he knew he could utilize even when -or especially when- we were feeling down.)

*I will miss always having someone to call and ask where I should take my car to be worked on because he knew every auto dealer/repair place in Cache valley due to his interest in cars and his car dealing days. He often knew the mechanics by name and could give us a brief background on them as well as their specialties. He has a way of becoming friends with just about anyone.

*I will miss being in the mood for some Angies Restaurant food every time Brandon just happened to be on shift. We loved being seated in eye-shot of the kitchen. Even though we could only see his abdomen through the food drop for the servers because of his height, we'd always try to grab his attention. Usually resulting in having the waitress tell him we were there, or texting him until he bent over and smiled or made a face through the slot. Often using his monotone robot voice and saying, "What are you doing?" He was Always sure to take a break and come sit with us. He was very generous to slip me an extra roll now and again as well.

* It was always a fun surprise at 11:30-midnight to hear Brandon's jeep pulling into our parking lot. (The poor neighbors probably hated it, that thing is SOOOO loud! We could hear it coming a block away.) He would be getting off shift from Angies, and to show he'd been thinking of us, he'd run to the door with a larger than life piece of banana cream pie, or a perfectly shrink wrapped cinnamon roll on steroids. The best midnight snacks I've ever had.

{I love this picture of Brandon with my nephew Porter. Porter could be shy of strangers and this was his first encounter with Brandon. Porter happily went right to him and Brandon couldn't stop smiling.}

*I'll miss visiting Brandon's booths at 'A' days, fairs, summerfest etc.

* I will miss going up the canyon with Brandon and having tin foil dinners. There always seemed to be an unintentional competition of whose dinner was the biggest and who put the better seasonings etc. I'll miss watching Brandon and Couper mess around with the fire for hours and the sporatic conversation we would have around the campfire.

*I'll miss eating breaded turkey steaks with thousand island dressing with him (his favorite thing to make us). As well as bbq-ed pineapple.

*I will miss going backpacking with Brandon. He was always the first and fasted to catch a lizard, I never quite caught onto that skill. The first backpacking trip I ever went on with him I was only 12. He definitely kept his eye on me and made sure I was okay.

Brandon, Couper and my brother Jake were able to go on a fishing trip last fall with Grandpa Steadman. Brandon and Couper could talk fishing for HOURS. I'm so grateful they got to have a great fishing adventure together. Brandon's love for fishing, reptiles and creepy crawly things has been present since he was a little boy. I remember watching him catch salamanders in ours and our neighbors window wells when we were little so that he could sell them at our family corner candy store. He was always looking for creative ways to earn money, even then.

*I will miss Brandon bouncing all of his creative business and life ideas off of us. I never really felt like I was able to stay up with the way his intricate mind worked. I truly admire his great mind.

{fishing}

{cooking the fish!}

*Brandon, much like my other brothers, is tall and skinny. Finding pants for him was a feat. Working at a clothing store, I was his go-to person and personal denim shopper. I loved this. So much. I will miss looking for pants for him and having him come visit me at work. I will miss yelling conversations through the dressing room doors and ending up with a pile of pants that didn't work, and maybe one that did.

*Brandon is extremely organized and financially aware. I will miss our discussions and will miss him offering to make me spreadsheets so that I can better organize my life.

*Brandon is THE hardest worker I know. He is 100% dependable and a perfectionist like none other (except maybe my father). I will miss spending time with him at his business in Logan, "The Rage". Couper and I spent countless hours there with him during the day, but most memorable, in the middle of the night. Brandon's best work and ideas came to him in those wee hours. He could be found working at The Rage 24/7. Even if he wouldn't allow us to help him during those late late nights, we stuck around for conversation and company because we loved those moments. I want to share an example of Brandon's perfectionist ways because it makes Couper and me happy.

Brandon had purchased a new washing machine for The Rage and we happened to be there at 2am helping him with some other projects when he decided he should probably just hook that up as well. Brandon and Couper finished the hook up while I watched. As they started leveling the machine, I left for a middle of the night Wal-Mart run to help with some projects. I was gone at least an hour, and upon my return...they were STILL leveling the machine!!! On the four tiny legs of the machine there are little knobs you can twist to level your machine if your floor is uneven, which The Rage floor is. Brandon knew it would bother him everyday unless he had done it completely right the first time. When I got back from Wal-Mart, I stood and watched him for another 15 or 20 minutes leveling that dang machine. He would put his leveler at the front of the machine, the back, and then each side, putting it parallel and perpendicular. Then him and Couper would have to lift the heavy load over and over again so that he could adjust the knob ever so slightly over and over again.

This story is quite humorous, and Brandon good naturedly laughed when we teased him about it. But he seriously couldn't stop that project until it was perfect. I share this funny example, but that's how Brandon was with EVERYTHING, not just leveling a washer!!! Everything had to be done to perfection, whether painting a room, fixing a car, making a meal, fulfilling his calling etc. He gave it his ALL. I hope I can be like that.

*I will miss Brandon calling to ask if I wanted to help him with something. I LOVED when he wanted our help. He never wanted to burden anyone, so was usually a do it himself person. Which was also why we often just ended up talking and joking with him while watching him accomplish a project. So, I loved when I actually got a chance to HELP HIM. However, it never stayed that way. Whenever he asked us to help him with a project he always made sure that in the end it would somehow benefit us, or he would reward us in some way. He's sensitive and thoughtful like that.

{I love this picture of Brandon and some of our younger siblings. I took it at Christmas a few years ago. It speaks for itself.}

*I will miss having gospel discussions with Brandon, and being jealous that I couldn't attend his gospel doctrine class because we were in different wards. He has a deep faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of His Atoning sacrifice.

I miss my brother more than words can express. And I will never stop missing him. My heart aches because of my love for him. What an amazing man and brother. My family and I have been deeply touched by all of the love and support that has been shown to us, but over all, the love and support that has been shown to Brandon. He is loved by so many, and has touched countless lives. I love you Brandon. And look forward to the day we meet again.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27.)

This is one of my favorite quotes said at Brandon's funeral service.

"To take the sorrow out of death, would mean to take the love out of life."

Called to Serve

We dropped dear brother Jake off at the MTC today. I can't believe that my little brother is officially Elder Kartchner. I am so proud of him and his choice to serve the Lord for two years in Monterrey, Mexico. Jake is an outstanding person and has continuously been an example to me throughout the years despite him being four years younger than me. I love him so much and am so excited to be able to share his experiences with him through letters and emails. It takes a lot of strength, courage, and most of all faith to serve a mission and Elder Kartchner is definitely prepared. Love you Bocaj, God speed. (To follow Elder Kartchner on his mission visit: http://elderkartchner.blogspot.com )

Couper and Jake have become very close in the 2 years Couper and I have been married. I think Couper is going to miss his buddy what do you think??

I know this is kind of a lot of pictures, and really there's more where this came from. But I just wanted to post some of the memories we've made with Jake in the few short months this summer that he's been living in Logan. We were so lucky to have my family move to Logan shortly after Jake got his call so that we could take advantage of the summer months we had to spend with him before he left!

Lagoon trip! Last time for two years! We were excited that Chelsey and Nicole Gleave could come too!

Canyon cookouts were the best!

This was a common sight with these two together :).

What a spiritual and heartfelt day to go through the temple with someone you love so dearly.

Bountiful Temple.

The proud parents.

Having a good laugh at our 4th of July celebrations as we tumbled down the giant hill on ice-blocks after an intriguing game of kick-ball.

You may think this picture is random, but to me it was kind of the essence of Jake and Couper. They have a love-hate relationship. They are the best of friends but are almost always arguing about trivial things just for the sake of arguing. They both always have a certain tone of voice they use during these moments and each one is "always right." This moment during the kick-ball game was no different. (lol...I sound like I'm talking about a married couple)

Hard work and working hard. The house my parents moved into here in Logan was in need of some major renovations. Due to working endless hours with my dad on various projects Jake has become quite the handyman and became the boss on site, always making sure projects were getting done so that he could see as much progression as possible before he left the country. There were a few late nights where I think the paint fumes started getting to us. . .

hmm..what did I tell you???

Well Jake, we'll miss watching Discovery channel and sports with you, we'll miss making midnight runs for rice pudding and always making sure we buy extra groceries when we know you're going to visit, we'll miss the late night talks and movie watching! But we are so excited for what is in store for you! We love you and know you'll make a great missionary!!