Obituary: Stuart Lee Brown

Our beloved Stuart Brown passed away suddenly and unexpectedly Sept. 3, 2009, cutting short a vibrant and passionate life committed to the American West.

He was born at Lake Tahoe in a ranger station in 1933, raised in San Jose, Calif., and graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Calif., with honors in agriculture. It was his honor to serve as president of the California Cattlemen's Association, as well as having been selected by the California Agriculture Leadership program to represent agribusiness in emerging economies throughout Africa. Stuart was an active member of the Rancheros Vistadores, a historic California society whose members included Roy Rogers and Ronald Reagan.

Stuart met and married his first wife Francoise Helleux, while stationed in Paris, France, after the Korean War. They settled in the Central Valley of California (Los Banos and Gustine) where they engaged in ranching, orchard and farming activities. At the same time, Stuart worked for Wells Fargo Bank where he was recognized as an expert in agricultural appraising, a career he pursed following his retirement.

Stuart met and married his second wife Judy Metzker and settled in Washoe Valley. He continued ranching activities in Surprise Valley, Calif., until his death. Stuart was an expert horseman, skier, aviation enthusiast and political activist and a devoted and loving husband and father.

Stuart is survived by his wife Judy Metzker and her two children Cydney and Adam; his first wife Francoise Brown and their three children Clifton and Steven Brown, and Rennie Tillis; his brother Barry Brown and family; and six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

"Stu" died living his dream of ranching in the great American West and his memory and sense of adventure will live in our hearts forever.