Carl Brown, a founder of the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District and lifelong resident of the area, died on Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, at the age of 86.
“He was proud of his military service and was extremely patriotic,” his daughter, Carol Richardson, remembered on Wednesday. “He was extremely vocal on his political views. He was a gentle man, and he was forgiving. I am so proud to be his daughter.”
Brown is survived by his wife Freda, his daughter, son Randy Brown of Dolores, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“He had lived a long and full life,” Richardson said. He was still working on the family ranch, Coolwater Ranch below Vallecito Dam, until about five years ago when it became difficult for him to walk very far. Even this May, he was still grocery shopping and caring for his wife.
Brown had recently fallen out of bed and broke some ribs, then contracted pneumonia. He died of respiratory arrest.
“He was still talkative and joking with the nurses,” his daughter said with a chuckle. They would ask how he felt on a scale of one to 10, and he would say he was an 11 that day.
“My dad was a community leader and visionary,” she said. Helping start the local fire district “was one of his crowning achivemenents.”
He served in the U.S. Army and was a corporal in communications in the first armored division. Although he received orders to go overseas, he was never sent and remained stateside until his honorable discharge.
He was elected to the Bayfield School Board in the 1960s and 1970s, and gave his daughter her diploma from Bayfield High School on her 18th birthday.
In addition to ranching, he sold real estate, ran cattle, and conducted other business activities.
“The man did it all,” his daughter said. “It’s just amazing to me the things he got accomplished – that he found the stamina and the time.”
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 at Bayfield High School at the Center for Performing Arts. He will be buried at the ranch.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Salvation Army or the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District Auxiliary. An obituary is in this week’s edition of the Times.
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