Estelle Brown's Obituary
Estelle ('Grace Estelle Nauen') was born and raised in New York city, the daughter of Otto Nauen and Grace Estelle Newport. She was educated in the New York school system and went to St. Lawrence College and then Columbia University, where she received a BA in business. She was married for 25 years to J. R. Callaway Brown, and they had 3 daughters (Amanda, Penelope, and Cynthia). At the time of her death just shy of age 101, Estelle had 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. Estelle was a keen gardener, and made exceptional gardens in Indiana (including one for the local high school), in her homes in Denver, in Bisbee, Arizona and in Inverness, Florida. She was passionate about the natural world, fond of hiking, camping, and canoeing. She was good with her hands, a superb seamstress (she made all of her own clothes) as well as an avid amateur carpenter (for her home in the Indiana Dunes she made cupboards, shelves, closets, a mahogany table, and even the carpentered parts of a fiberglass sailing dinghy). She was widely read, and also liked to travel, including every summer taking her young daughters on road trips across the country. A forward thinker, Estelle applied her sharp intellect to thinking outside of the box. She was in many ways a rebel, not to be intimidated by custom or by authority, always testing limits and exploring new avenues. For most of her life she was a dedicated environmentalist, and for years she spent many hours in volunteer activities for the Sierra Club, as she tried to influence 'what we were doing to our earth.' For example, concerned about potential adverse impact on the environment from the Olympics Winter Games when they were awarded to Colorado for 1976, she was an active player in circulating petitions throughout Colorado which eventually resulted in voter rejection of the already-awarded Olympic Winter Games. And, when Interstate 70 was under construction through the Rockies, Estelle requested a guided nature trail with a geological description of the newly exposed rock faces to be put in along both sides of the highway (it is still in use today). She was also instrumental in getting Interstate 25 dedicated as a 'scenic highway' with subsequent elimination of all billboards. In the late 1960s she organized and taught a 'Citizen Action Workshop' where she promoted grassroots influence on public policy. She received the Sierra Club's 'Special Achievement Award' in 1967 for her conservation activities. Estelle was a creative, energetic, outspoken and articulate woman with strong opinions. She was fun to be with and had a fabulous sense of humor. She also was at times blunt and to the point with fresh and surprising observations. Her daughters all feel that they are the people they are, thanks to Estelle. From her they absorbed a dogged determination to get the things they believe in done and done right, as well as a joyful appreciation of the natural world and a sense of obligation to make this planet a better place for their having lived.
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