Former Coffee Cat on Kings Beach owner Damian Brown dies from cancer

Tributes are flowing for a Sunshine Coast business identity, with loved ones remembering the father-of-two’s thirst for knowledge and enviable ability to always look for the best things in life. Read the heartfelt words.

A beloved Sunshine Coast businessman is being remembered for his quirky personality and thirst for life, after losing a long battle with bowel cancer last week.

Former Coffee Cat on Kings Beach owner Damian Brown died in hospital on Thursday at the age of 58, two-and-a-half years after a terminal diagnosis.

Mr Brown was known on the Sunshine Coast as the friendly and zany cafe owner after moving from Melbourne in 2011.

Whether it was from his endless enthusiasm for new jobs and experiences or to calling out customers’ names on his cafe microphone while they were in line to order, there was never a dull moment.

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Former Coffee Cat On Kings Beach owner Damian Brown. Picture: Facebook

Sister Janine Gabrielli said her brother always had a thirst for knowledge and loved sharing it with everyone around him.

“He would always be finding something new … he wanted to see whatever’s good to try and find a purer side to it,” Mrs Gabrielli said.

Adrian Gabrielli, Terry Brown, Damian Brown, Terry Brown and Peter Bailey. Picture: Contributed

Mr Brown had a laundry list of jobs throughout his life, working in the medical industry and hospitality before joining Golf Australia.

He later started his own freelance writing business named Profile Your World, and ran his own podcast.

The Kings Beach icon was also a proud dad to daughter Maeve, 21 and son, Henry, 24.

Former Coffee Cat On Kings Beach owner Damian Brown died after more than two years battling bowel cancer. Picture: Facebook

“He was an incredible sportsman and tennis player, and everything he did he would do with such enormous passion and became more involved with people,” Mrs Gabrielli said.

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Mr Brown opened Coffee Cat on Kings Beach in 2011 after moving to the Coast, before selling to Haley and Pierre Mortenson in 2014.

During his time in Kings Beach, Mr Brown threw his energy into the cafe and into the Caloundra community.

Mrs Gabrielli said even after his cancer diagnosis he continued to experience as much of life as possible, seeing his terminal illness as “another new adventure”.

Coffee Cat on Kings Beach will hold a special celebration to honour of the life of Mr Brown on November 6.

You can find out more here.