Tributes

Brian Lee Supplee “Papa” January 30, 1950 - August 18, 2025 Brian was born in Detroit, Michigan to Robert Leroy and Corrine Dolores Supplee. He lived there until 1955, when the family moved to Lavonia, MI. There he attended grade school and graduated from Franklin High School in 1968. From early on, his interests were in the mechanical and electrical fields, which spawned many projects from electric minibikes and bicycles, to MGAs and big block Chevrolets. He went on to attend college at Lawrence Technical Institute, while working for Michigan Bell Telephone. In the winter of 1974, Brian accepted a position at a Manhattan Beach, CA company, bought a big Olds 98, added a trailer hitch, and headed for sunny California. Over the next several years, he moved through various positions, finally landing at Emulex Corporation in Irvine, CA. It was there that he developed his concept of fixtured Temperature Cycling Test Chambers. He started a business in his garage called Cybortronics, a name he’d thought of at the age of twelve. There he built Chambers for Emulex and many others. His workload grew, and in 1989, he incorporated with a partner and began what turned out to be a successful 32-year business, supplying products to clients such as Western Digital, Cisco Systems, IBM, Flextronics, Celestica, and many others around the world. Brian met the love of his life, Kathy, in 1989. Kathy had an upstart sheet metal business, which Cybortronics needed. Brian courted Kathy for many years, and in 2000, they were married. He gave her the love and dedication of a devoted husband, and she gave him a beautiful and loving family. He is survived by his wife Kathleen Supplee; her children, Debbi Carlson, Ross ‘Guy’ Morrow Jr., Robert Morrow (Kolby), and Penny Neal (Kevin); his eight grandchildren, Ross Morrow III (Itzel), Jolene Stolyar (Coco), Stacy Miklavcic (John), Natal Johnston (Phil), Erin Ray, Alyson Ray, William Ray III (Ali), Ellie Lee-Morrow, and Riley Lee-Morrow; and his five great grandchildren, Tatum Stolyar, Brooklyn Johnston, Skylar Johnston, Oliver Miklavcic, and Adalyn Joy Ray. He is also survived by his two brothers, Neil Supplee (Donna) and Craig Supplee (Tracey); and their children Ryan, Christopher, Nathan, Alyssa, Lindsey, Andria, and Nichole. Services will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 820 W. Imperial Hwy, Brea, CA 92821, at 11am on September 13, 2025, followed by a reception at Brian and Kathy’s home, 384 Dover Ave. Brea, CA. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Please send flowers directly to the family's residence.