Obituary of Robert "Bob" Brown

Robert Joseph Brown died on July 16, 2021 at the home where he was born 91 years earlier. Bob spent his childhood in eastern Colorado and graduated from Burlington High School in 1948. After returning from the Korean war in 1953, he married Phyllis Waitman. Together they purchased a small farm north of Burlington – the very farm where Bob was born. There, he and Phyllis spent their lives expanding the farm, raising three daughters and enjoying numerous grand and great-grandchildren. Bob was a patient father and grandfather who always had time to read a story, play a game, help with a project or just be silly with the kids. He was a 4-H leader for years and never missed a single 4-H meeting. Bob loved to follow (and argue!) politics and he was an avid reader to the end, always reading on many subjects to learn and be informed. Bob was also an amateur fiddle player and enjoyed making music with his brothers, who were also musicians. Bob’s children have fond memories of evenings when he would play their favorite songs for them on the fiddle. Also an avid arrowhead hunter, Bob cultivated a friendly rivalry with his closest friend and neighbor Larry Jacobson. They spent many happy hours together, scouring the countryside for arrowheads (and arguing politics!). In his later years, when he was mobility impaired, he would fix anything that was brought to him, from clocks to birdhouses and even small furniture. He was always helping his children and grandchildren, in any way he could. Bob was passionate about farming and was a member of Farm Bureau and served on the CO-OP board for years. He was especially passionate about his own farm and, even though he had many invitations from family to live with them, he chose instead to remain on his farm independently until the end. He wanted to stay involved with the day-to-day happenings as he was mentoring his grandson, Eric, on the finer points of farming, Bob’s way. Bob was kind, thoughtful, fun-loving, energetic and so generous. He will be forever missed and lovingly remembered by his family and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis and his five siblings, and is survived by his three daughters, Linda Grauberger, Ellie McClung and Penny Gartrell as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.