Barbara Brown

Barbara Benedict Brown (85) of Idaho Falls passed away at home on April 17, 2017, with family at her bedside. Barbara was born in Madison, Wisconsin on July 23, 1931, the first child of Prof. Ralph and Dorothy Benedict. When Barb was six, the family moved to the young lakeside village of Shorewood Hills. She spent her remaining childhood years there with brothers Thomas and Bruce and sister Carol, always remembering it fondly as an idyllic place in which to grow up. Lifelong friendships were made at Shorewood School and at Wisconsin High on the University of Wisconsin campus, where Barb served on the student council, performed in choir and orchestra, was active in Photogs, and graduated with honors. Barb and Tom were avid alpine skiers before the sport's popularity became widespread. Two high school summers were spent doing au pair work in Aspen, CO where Barb’s uncle, Fredric “Fritz” Benedict, a Frank Lloyd Wright trained architect, had begun designing and building civic buildings and resort homes. A highlight was the Goethe Bicentennial Convocation in 1949, where she met Thornton Wilder and heard Albert Schweitzer and other luminaries speak and perform. Barbara completed her freshman college year at the University of Wisconsin, after which she escaped the midwest's summertime pollen by transferring to the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her mathematics and philosophy studies were complemented by hiking, fishing, and skiing in the Rockies. Through the university's Hiking Club, she met her future husband Arthur Brown, a chemical engineering major, and they were wed in Boulder after she received her bachelor’s degree in 1953. After Art received his master’s degree, they moved to Idaho Falls. Barb worked for two years as a mathematician at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL, then called the National Reactor Testing Station), where husband Art also worked as a nuclear physicist. In 1957, their first child Kristy was born, followed by Tina, Derek, and Robin. Barb's promising career was placed on hold for a generation as she devoted herself to serving as a mother, homemaker, and community volunteer. She pursued a master’s degree in mathematics part-time at ISU, and after the children were grown, she returned to work as a scientific editor at SAIC, focusing on our nation’s nuclear waste storage and remediation plans. The children were initiated at very young ages into the rigors and joys of frequent hiking, backpacking, and skiing excursions in Idaho, Wyoming, and other western states. Barb took many black-and-white photos of children and mountains during those years. Eventually Art and Barb built a professional photography darkroom, where Barb developed, processed, and printed her own studio-quality photographs. Her artwork was displayed at art shows, county fairs, and galleries as well as in the homes of family and friends. Macramé and weaving followed later as a hobby shared with son Derek. Barb also knit gloves and socks for her children (and later for her grandchildren) and sewed clothes for her children (including a daughter’s wedding dress) and outerwear and sleeping bags for backpacking for her children and Art. With Art and others, Barb co-founded the Idaho Alpine Club in 1960 and served as president, treasurer, and longtime newsletter editor. The Browns lived in Ammon until 1981, when they moved into their new solar envelope home on East River Road. During the 1970s, the Browns and the Bradley and Young families purchased farmland and developed East River Commons (ERC), a 50-acre Planned Unit Development along the Idaho Canal, which featured private home lots surrounded by more than 40 acres of commonly owned open lands. The Browns landscaped their lot with asparagus, flower bulbs, shrubs, ground cover plants, raspberries, and a vegetable garden, and planted a thousand trees for windbreaks along the perimeters of the common lands. Over the last 36 years, Barb has been dedicated to managing the development of the ERC dream, acting as president, treasurer, and primary steward of the commons. As the children grew up, finished their educations, and began their careers, the outings shifted to bike touring and trekking trips, including one in the 1970s to test the nation’s first “rails to trails” ride in Barb’s hometown of Madison. With friends and family members, she also made numerous bike and other trips, mostly to Europe: the Camino de Santiago in Spain, Switzerland, Sicily, and the Low Countries, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Scotland and the Orkneys. Barb's traveling companions throughout her life included many dear friends from near and far -- too many to mention here. Music was a big part of Barb’s life. She played piano throughout her childhood and took up recorder as an adult, forming and leading an ensemble for more than 40 years that still performs at churches and other venues. Her children all played instruments and she accompanied them on the piano for various events. The oldest (Kristy) is now a professor of music theory at Iowa State University, and the youngest (Robin) plays fiddle music in Bellingham WA and teaches violin. Among other avocations were her book club, investment club, and film group as well as the Friends of the Library, for which she edited and mailed newsletters for many years. After husband Art’s death in 1989 and the departure for college and careers of all four children, Barb turned her focus and drive to helping others experience the great outdoors by planning weekly cross-country skiing (in winter) and bike rides (in summer) all over eastern Idaho for The Geezers, i.e. the over-55 set. She planned and mapped 20- and 30-mile routes and coordinated and wrote up each expedition. She continued to ride after pneumonia (with an oxygen tank on her back) and, after a broken hip, she switched to a 3-wheel recumbent cycle. When at last she was unable to ride, she joined the group to check them in and for the after-ride treats. Throughout her adult life, Barb (and Art, while still alive) opened their home to many relatives and friends seeking outdoor adventures, providing equipment, know-how, and gourmet meals and excursion advice during the planning phase, often also serving as guides. She maintained her interest in nature and family photography throughout her life, the stunning results of which may be seen on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/skigrandma/photos_albums?lst=100000517695286%3A1201971728%3A1492701263 Barb was a constant, tireless, curious, generous, and inspirational companion, friend, mother and grandmother. She is hugely missed. She is survived by her sister Carol and sisters-in-law Lois Benedict and Bonnie Benedict; her daughters Kristy (and Mark) Bryden, Tina (and Damian) Sedney, and Robin Brown (and Marcus Leonard), and son Derek (and Christy) Brown; and grandchildren Aaron, Ben (and Mariel), Patrick (and Grace), Nicholas, Sarah, Arthur, Amelia, and Brendan. She was predeceased by her parents, her brothers Tom and Bruce, and her husband Art.

A Celebration of Life and Open House will be held June 25, 2017, at Barbara's home, 201 West Commons Road. Please R.S.V.P. to krisbryden@me.com Memorial gifts may be made to:

Teton Regional Land Trust: tetonlandtrust.org/support/memorial-gifts/

Arthur W. Brown Family Fund for Music Education at the Idaho Community Foundation: https://www.idcomfdn.org

Friends of the Library (Idaho Falls): ifpl.org/friends-of-the-library/#endowment

Celebration of Life & Open House