On Tuesday, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown took to Twitter to share that his younger brother Mel, 66, passed away on Saturday after a long battle with cancer. Mel was survived by his wife of 30 years, Reggie, his two daughters, and three grandchildren.

He is the first of the three Brown brothers (Mack, Watson) to pass away.

"Mel graduated from Putnam County Senior High in 1973," his obituary stated. "He and his family shared a love of sports, especially [Cookeville High School] football which he continued to support as a leading member of the alumni association. He was a key member of the committee which named the Cavalier stadium after his grandfather Eddie Watson in 1995. After high school, Mel graduated from Florida State University. Mel spent the majority of his career as a sales executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield prior to his retirement in 2011."

View Mack Brown's Twitter post below:

The Brown brothers grew up in the small town of Cookeville, Tennessee. Early in life, they were exposed to education and the game of football through their father Melvin and grandfather Eddie. Both high school coaches, Eddie also served as a school superintendent while Melvin was a principal and owner of a sporting goods store.

"[Mack Brown] definitely had some really great models between his granddad and his dad," Brown's youngest daughter, Dr. Barbara Wilson told Inside Carolina. "His dad was a hardcore old farmer from Tennessee. He wanted him to do anything else."

Melvin, albeit successful in his own right, wanted more for his children. As the owner of a sporting goods store, he put his kids to work at a young age, instilling a work ethic in each of his boys that helped them lead successful lives of their own.

"We would work at the sporting goods store and then go practice and then go to bed – that is what we did every day," Brown said.

All three of the Brown brothers played football for Putnam County. Watson and Mel starred at quarterback for the Cavaliers while Mack, a running back, was named The Tennessean's Player of the Year as a senior.

Eldest brother Watson was one of the nation's top-rated quarterbacks. Upon graduation, he was also recruited to play collegiate basketball and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates of the MLB to play shortstop.

Watson played quarterback for Vanderbilt University from 1969-72, and as a freshman, helped his team topple No. 13 Alabama 14-10. The Commodores have beaten the Crimson Tide just once since then (1984).

Watson coached college football for over 30 years before retiring in 2015 with a career record of 136-211-1. His 211 losses are the most in college football history.

Mack's eldest daughter, Katherine Ryan, appeared on the TV show Jeopardy! late last year and won nearly $23,000 in her first outing.