CU's First All-American Skier Frank Brown Passes Away

BOULDER - Colorado's first All-American in the sport that has brought the school 20 national championships, Frank Brown, passed away on June 4 at the age of 79 in his home in McCall, Idaho.

CU's first truly accomplished skier emerged as such in the eighth year of the program as a sophomore in 1957, as he earned All-America honors in both alpine and Nordic action. He would earn the same honors in both as a junior and senior, becoming the school's first three-time All-American in any sport.

Brown's obituary (with a few additions) as it ran in the McCall (Idaho) Star-News on June 16, 2016:
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Frank Elliott Brown passed away on June 4, 2016 in McCall, Idaho, at the age of 79. He was born April 16, 1937 to his beloved parents Jayne and Warren Brown. His upbringing in McCall, Idaho was full of adventure.

From skiing and ski jumping at the Little Ski Hill, to waterskiing on top of a ladder balancing on top of a plywood disk, he was always trying to take things to the next level.

Frank graduated from McCall Donnelly High School and then attended the University of Colorado. He majored in Architectural Engineering, was an "A" student and was three-year letterman on CU Ski Team.

The first All-American in CU's illustrious skiing history, he would earn the distinction three times, as a sophomore (1957), junior (1958) and senior (1959). The '59 team was the first in any sport at Colorado to win an NCAA championship. In 2006, Frank and the rest of the team were inducted into CU's Athletic Hall of Fame, one of his proudest moments.

After college, he went on to ski in the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif. Skiing was a huge part of Frank's life and he always looked back at his time as a champion skier as one that taught him the drive, ambition and tenacity that would bring him through the trials of his life.

During his college years, he was married to Sherlene Lawhorn and they had three sons, Charlie, Warren L. and Stanley Brown. After college, Frank started his long career as an entrepreneur. He had a vast career spanned property management, property development, hotel and restaurant ownership, ski retail and several other projects in Boise and McCall. He owned and operated Victor's in Boise until 1986 when he moved back to McCall to develop King's Pines Estates.

He worked with his father and his children and it became his most successful property development project. Many of Frank's projects can still be seen today in the A-frame houses, condominiums and other buildings that are scattered around McCall. He was also very proud of the house he designed for his aunt and uncle (Kathleen and Earl Chandler), that is now on the Boise Historic Registry.

In 1970, he met and married the love of his life, Judy Rader. Together they had their daughter Amy. Judy and Frank had over 45 adventure filled years together and truly proved the meaning of love and devotion.

Frank loved the back country of Idaho and loved spending time with his family and friends at Shepp Ranch and Chamberlain Basin. In 1997, he was in a small plane crash in that back country that would permanently alter his life. Pulling from his inner strength and tenacity, he was able to overcome the accident with true grit and live another 18 years in true "Frank Brown" fashion.

He finished his King's Pines Estates project and he and Judy moved to Maui, one of his favorite places on this earth, where he could breathe better. For the seven years that they lived there, he worked on getting his golf game back and was finally able to shoot his age at 76, and get one last hole-in-one.

Frank touched many lives and had many, many great friends throughout his life that he loved dearly and was so happy to have known. He was thrilled to be able to connect with some of them recently when he and Judy moved back to Boise.

He came full circle on June 3, as he sat on the shore of Payette Lake watching the sunset and reminiscing about all of the miles that he had spent on that lake. It was truly magical.

Frank is survived by his wife Judy; his three sons Charlie, Warren, and Stanley (Kristine) Brown and Daughter Amy (Christopher) Clark; his sister Diane Brown (Judd) DeBoer; eight grandchildren; Camille Claire Brown, Drew Harrington Brown, Christopher James (Hailey) Brown, Ava Jayne Brown, Robert Nichol, Katie Brianne (Paden) McCormick, Sarah Marie Spry, and Brandon Elliott Spry; and two great grandchildren, Bella Jayne Johnston and Channing Carl Brown.

In Lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Warren H. Brown Memorial, c/o the Idaho Community Foundation, 210 W. State Street Boise, ID 83702, which benefits the Little Ski Hill.

A Celebration of Life will be held on July 2 (at 4:30 p.m.) at the Little Ski Hill in McCall.

CU's First All-American Skier Frank Brown Passes Away

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