Winifred "Freddy" Brown

1928 - 2019

Freddy Brown passed away comfortably in her home with family. A Denver native, she attended Park Hill Elementary, Smiley Junior High, and East High School. Active in the Denver Junior Group of the Colorado Mountain Club, she climbed many of the state's highest peaks, and backpacked through much of its wild country from the early 1940's on. She loved skiing at Winter Park and the back-country and was particularly joyous after her "egg-beater" tumbles. She attended Stanford University where she was one of the original members of the Stanford Alpine Club. She loved rock climbing in the Pinnacles and Yosemite Valley earning her nickname of "Fearless Freddy." She was among the first women to climb many of Yosemite's routes. In 1949, she spent the summer in Europe with her rope-mates. They particularly loved the mountains surrounding Zermatt where they attempted and summited several peaks, including the Matterhorn. Upon graduation with a degree in Education, she taught school for several years. In 1950, she married Alden Brown at Denver's Warren Methodist. They made their permanent home in Denver, where she raised 3 children and was active in the League of Women Voters. Always the adventurer and curious about the world, in 1964, she and Alden took their children on a summer trip to Europe that turned into a 6-month sojourn around the world visiting such countries as the Soviet Union, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, India, Nepal, Thailand, Taiwan and Japan. Due to her husband's increasing disability from rheumatoid arthritis, their travels were curtailed and for decades she devoted herself to his care, spending winters in the Palm Springs area where she extended her love of tennis developed on the Denver courts of the Gates Tennis Center, Washington Park, and Heather Ridge. Upon his death in 2005, she again traveled widely and exhibited her still fearless and adventurous nature at age 78 with a scamper to the summit of Huayna Picchu at Machu Picchu. She is survived by her three children Darrell (Suzanne), Nea Brown, and Julia Brown, along with four grandchildren (Jud, Anna, Elena, and Jay) and one great-granddaughter, Bridget. Memorial contributions are encouraged to Warren Village. There was a family memorial service.