Ashley Reney Brown, 39, of Kirksville, Missouri, was a brilliant and creative spirit—the kind of person that makes things happen. She had the gift of manifestation: she could imagine the world she wanted to create, then bring it into existence.
Those who knew Ashley keep using the same description; she was the Sun. She brought warmth into people’s lives and seemed to almost literally glow. She was widely known and deeply loved, and the people who loved her will remember her light.
Ashley loved Kirksville. She loved this little town and saw all that it could become. She wanted it to grow into a bigger, better place, and she fiercely believed in its potential.
Almost thirteen years ago Ashley founded Rejuvenate Wellness Center and has been providing massage therapy, dance lessons, fitness classes, and an enormous variety of pop up events. She loved to help people and dedicated her life to doing so. She wanted nothing more than to provide for the community she loved.
Her favorite things included spending time with her family and eating good food. She loved dancing, live entertainment, and any excuse to wear a costume. She was a dreamer and spent her free time in the clouds conjuring up ideas for the world around her. Every Saturday she wanted to go to the Kirksville farmers market, then pick flowers, then go home and eat watermelon. It took very little to make Ashley smile.
Ashley was a weirdo, and she wore the title like a badge. She loved the underdog, the outsider, and the misunderstood. She loved all things fringe, which without a doubt made her orbit a place where people felt accepted for who they are. She loved without reservation and let her unique flag wave high. She genuinely loved every neighbor.
She leaves behind her husband, Ben Brown; their four children, Khloe Sparks, 13, James Tomten, 16, Xander Brown, 19, and Bradley Tomten, 20; her father, Mark Harrison; her mother, Cathy Michels; her stepfather, Drei Michels; and her sisters, Amanda Cox and April Van Beek.
Public visitation will be held Sunday, October 11, 2026 from noon to 2:00 p.m. service time in the chapel of Travis-Noe Funeral Home in Kirksville. Interment will follow at Forest Llewellyn Cemetery in Kirksville.
Memorial donations in memory of Ashley may be made to her husband Benjamin Brown and may be left at or mailed to Travis-Noe Funeral Home, P.O. Box 306, Kirksville, MO 63501.
Her husband remembers her with these words: “She was the most loved person I’ve ever known.”
“Know that no matter what, I will be somewhere in this universe with you and loving you with everything I
—Ashley