The Passing of Tom Brown Jr. the Founder of the Tracker School
Aug 18, 2024
Helpers Mentoring Society has been guided, supported and influenced by many sources. One of the most impactful has been the teachings of Tom Brown Jr.
Tom was mentored as a child by an Apache elder and was taught the ways of a tracking and indigenous medicine. He wrote about his experiences in a book titled The Tracker, published in 1978. Tom Brown Jr.'s founded the Tracker School, teaching people from all over the world the ways of connecting to the Earth, survival skills, tracking, and medicine. Tom authored 16 books on tracking, awareness, nature observation and survival, including, Grandfather, The Vision, The Way of the Scout and a series of field guides.
Helpers Mentoring Society founder Salvatore Gencarelle was guided to the Tracker School and the direct teachings of Tom after a series of synchronous events in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona - the historic location of the Apache peoples. The lineage and medicine of Tom Brown Jr. and the Tracker School has been an integral part of the teaching of Helpers Mentoring Society since.
We at Helpers Mentoring Society send our love and condolences to Tom's family and the entire "Tracker" community. We honor Tom's well lived life - and know that his spirit journey continues.
Forever grateful for Tom Brown Jr.,
Salvatore Gencarelle and Helpers Mentoring Society
Below is a direct message from the Tracker School and Tom's family about his passing - along with a link to a video from one of Tom's sons.
Hey folks,
Got some pretty heavy news here...
As you know, Tom's health took a turn for the worse this summer. He's been in and out of hospitals and physical therapy rehab centers and it hasn't been easy. This past week was particularly bad.
It was too much for him.
He passed away around 8:00 am on Friday morning, August 16, 2024.
His son River recorded a short video out in Grandfather's Camp this morning on Tom's last words and his passing, and what the future looks like. That video is linked below.
We send much love to all of you. This is a hard time. Grieve, heal, and rediscover joy and purpose - it's what Tom wanted.
Know that this is not the end of the lineage. Tom has taught and inspired far too many folks to become teachers themselves for that to happen. The values and philosophy that Tom taught will continue to ripple out... and the Tracker School will carry on.
There will be more announcements on what that looks like, but for now we're all going to just be quiet for awhile.
Love and gratitude,
the Tracker School
