Brendan Patrick Dudley Babb

1942 - 2011

Brendan Patrick Dudley Babb lost his battle with cancer in the late hours of March 20, 2011. Brendan spent over four decades working, living in and loving Fairbanks. He passed in Anchorage where he went to be with family, while receiving further medical treatment.
Brendan was born on May 28, 1942, in Portsmouth, Va., to James Dunnington Babb and Barbara Wood Babb. Brendan was the son of a U.S. Navy captain and was baptized aboard the USS Wyoming, at a time when the outcome of the war was still in doubt. As a Navy brat he moved around with his family to Alaska, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and attended high school in the Philippines. After high school, he spent a brief period teaching conversational English in Hong Kong.
Brendan returned to the Philippines to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1961, and after infantry training he became a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Brendan spent many tense hours in a C-130 jumpship doing constant "flyovers" of the island of Cuba, waiting for the word to jump. The word never came, and Brendan decided that the life of a line infantryman wasn't for him, so he volunteered to be a student at the newly formed Recondo School at Fort Campbell, Ky., and then went on to Ranger School at Fort Benning, Ga.
For the next three years, Brendan was an instructor for the Jungle Warfare Training Center at Fort Sherman, Panama. In early 1968, Brendan was rushed to Vietnam at the start of the Tet Offensive to serve with the 82nd Airborne Division's newly formed Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol teams. His missions were undertaken in six-man teams that went behind enemy lines to "observe and harass." Brendan left Vietnam and the U.S. Army in late 1968.       
After serving his country for seven years, Brendan came to Fairbanks to visit his older brother Jim Babb, and to get to know his sister-in-law and his young nephew. Like many who come to Fairbanks for a visit, Brendan was still here 43 years later. According to Jim, Brendan loved tropical climates but decided to give Fairbanks a try because he could "leave a beer on the windowsill and it would only get colder." He enrolled at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and studied anthropology and history.
In 1974, Brendan married Kate Houston and they had four children together while building a life in the hills around Fairbanks. During this time, Brendan worked as a BLM firefighter, a city garbage man, a construction and road worker, as well as in the oil fields of the North Slope. In 1987, Brendan joined the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier serving mostly routes in the downtown area. He retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2007.
In retirement, he loved fixing up his little house downtown and tending to his garden. Brendan was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, and fought a hard battle for the next three years, with more good days than bad days. In keeping with who he was, he died on his feet, and his last words were spent insisting he didn't need any help, and that he had everything under control.
Those that knew Brendan regarded him as a fun guy to be around with a wide range of interests. He had a fine understanding of right and wrong, and a quick sense of humor. His siblings always said that he was at the same time, the strongest and gentlest person they've ever known. Despite his distinguished Army record in Vietnam, he was modest and self-effacing and rarely spoke of his combat experiences.
Brendan was a voracious reader who could spend many hours talking about any subject over a cup of coffee. He loved the outdoors and spent much of his free time fishing and camping, especially on the Upper Chena, and helped write a guidebook about floating the Chena. He was an excellent cook and made some of the best pie crusts you could find in the Interior.
Brendan was a loved and respected figure in Fairbanks and his family and many friends everywhere shall miss him. He was a loving and devoted father and grandfather; a loyal brother and a thoughtful uncle and friend.
He is survived by his four children, Shannon and Ian Boulton of Arizona, Zach and Melisa Babb of Anchorage, Macker and Theresa Babb of Fairbanks and Dudley Babb and Valerie Truncali of Anchorage; his grandchildren, Marshall and Madeline Babb of Anchorage; as well as by Babb's of many names in Anchorage, New York, California, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Louisiana.
A large party will be held on the afternoon of May 28 at the Dog Mushers Hall in Fairbanks. All of his friends are invited to come and remember and honor Brendan, as he deserves.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Brendan's name to the Friends of Creamer's Field.