Tracey Brough

Tracey Brough was born July 5, 1970 in Urbana, Illinois and died November 16, 2025 in Tooele, Utah. She was adopted at birth, transferred to foster care at age 2, then adopted by Marshall Ward Brough and Janet Louise Nordquist in 1977, which adoption was finalized June 23, 1978. She was sealed to Marshall and Janet in the Salt Lake Temple on July 1, 1978.

Marshall and Janet’s second daughter Tiffany was born with general muscle deterioration and lived only five years. They had learned to handle physical handicaps and decided to adopt a handicapped child while they were still willing to deal with such challenges. They sought help from the Children’s Service Society and prayerfully identified Tracey from her picture and brief profile in a pamphlet of adoption candidates. Her profile included Cerebral Palsy (CP) with no speech, virtually no control over her right side, and the need for wearing a helmet and walking with braces and a forearm crutch.

Tracey attended school in Jordan School District. After one year at Jordan Valley, she was mainstreamed in MidValleyElementary, Union Middle and West Jordan High School. She attended post-high school vocational training at South Valley. Tracey’s determination to do what was expected of her in school enabled her to continually excel in cooperation and effort for which she was formally recognized.

Tracey’s smile has been her signature. It was spontaneous and genuine, defined her appearance, and communicated what she felt inside, a pure and generous heart. Everyone around her was of interest to her. Without the benefit of 2-way conversationsand asking questions, she had an amazing ability to observe, listen, and remember. Such individual profiles in her mind and heart marked the beginning of her quest to understand, appreciate, and develop love for that person. I think many people sensed these good feelings for them and they couldn’t help but reciprocate. She accepted and relished love from others.

Job searches were unsuccessful, so we turned to volunteering, specifically one-fingered keyboard entry of family history data for Family Search. This took place in her bedroom where she happily worked hour after hour. She valued highly the opportunity to index records that aided people in identifying their ancestors and performing proxy ordinances for them in the temples. She was honored for her contribution in the Church News, “Building the Kingdom despite disability,” https://www.thechurchnews.com/2014/5/31/23211975/building-the-kingdom-despite-disability/.

She served a 2-year service mission with her parents in Sydney, Australia where she indexed Australian records full time. When AI tools took over FamilySearch Indexing the last two years of her life, she transitioned to volunteer indexing of gravestones. She was working daily until about 6 weeks before her death. She calls this “my work.”

Tracey tracked life with a calendar, but hers ran from Thursday to Thursday, the night of her weekly Special Needs Mutual, later renamed Special Needs Activity Program (SNAP). She began after high school and continued for 37 years. Here she gave and received love from the finest people who walk the earth, her peers, leaders and high school-age helpers.

Tracey loved her family’s pet dogs and had a large family of stuffed animals. The stuffed animals were named and treated with love that reflected her love for others.

The advent of texting opened up an amazing opportunity for her to initiate 2-way conversations. Her siblings gave her an iPad and she loved to FaceTime. She also wrote many notes.

Her memory enabled her to excel in matching games. She loved puzzles. Old TV programs were her favorites.

Tracey’s testimony of Heavenly Father’s Plan, Jesus Christ’s love for her as her Redeemer, and their Prophets as mouthpieces on the earth provided continual strength to her. She knew that she was living as the scriptures teach us.

Her delight was her family. She memorized birthdates for her eight siblings and thirty-one nieces and nephews (includingspouses), and wrote birthday cards for each. Until this past year of rapid decline in her health, she wrote birthday cards for everyone. She has since been her dad’s reminder for making birthday calls. Tracey died on the birthday of a young niece. She will be missed on this side of the veil, but her family is already assured of her actions in their behalf from the other side of the veil. Tracey made sure that this niece received a personal birthday hug. This is now part of “her work.”

Tracey is survived by her father and seven siblings, Connie Johnston (Paul), Esther Kenison (Evan), Sarah Blomquist (Richard), Amy Kesler (Steven), Phillip Brough (Mary), Andrea Young (Spencer), and Eldon Brough (Becca). She was preceded in death by her mother and her sister Tiffany.

All funeral-related events will take place November 28-29 in Tooele, UT 84074 at the Cedarview Chapel, 691 East Cedarview St. Viewings - Friday, 6:30-8:00pm and Saturday, 9-10:30am. Funeral Service – Saturday, 11am-12:15pm. Family Luncheon – Saturday, 12:15-1:30pm. Burial – Saturday, 2:30pm at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Cemetery, 3401 S Highland Dr, Millcreek, UT 84106 (use the 33rd So. entrance east of Highland Drive which is close to the burial plot).

The funeral service will be available via livestream at:

https://calendar.app.google/iHPqe6b3xWk4APQp9