Eloisa was a proud matriarch and was survived by her children: Bob Thornburg and Dannie Roark, Rosina and Charles Lowance, Bonnie and John Garcia, and Mary Eloisa and Richard Wallen. She leaves a legacy of five children, 11 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

She attended school in Santa Fe through grade 12, studied at Radcliffe for a year, and married her high-school sweetheart, David. The elegance of Eloisa’s ancestry and upbringing prepared her to be a diplomat’s wife and raise five children as they lived in Bolivia, Ghana, and Nigeria and traveled to five continents along with David’s job in USAID, the Agency for International Development.

Her thirst for learning never ended throughout her life. At 60 she received her bachelor’s degree at UNM. She also studied in Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. Her business card read “Semi-Professional Student.” Her love of the written word led her to teach adults to read and helped others to learn ESL. While in Bolivia she and other wives started an American school for their children which thrives. It came to be known as ‘The Calvert School’ and thrives to this day.

Eloisa got to complete two big events on her bucket list. She was excited and grateful to have the privilege of casting her presidential vote this month. This was important because her aunt, Nina Otero Warren was New Mexico’s premiere suffrage leader instrumental in getting the Women’s’ Right to Vote in NM in 1920.

Eloisa never stopped writing about her family, her travels, and how her rich family ancestry and New Mexico history are entwined. She was so excited that her memoirs were compiled and edited by Patricia Guccino, a local historian. Her intriguing story, “The Tale of Two Eloisas” will soon be published.

As a woman with many interests and talents, she was not afraid to try something new. One of her many accomplishments was becoming an exhibition pistol shooter in La Paz, Bolivia in the mid-’50s. She was once invited to shoot with the Bolivian Army team but was never invited back because she beat them all!!

Eloisa left her mark in indelible ink on her family and every person she met. She lived to be 93, was bright, present, and vibrant up until her last moments and will be missed dearly. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations in Eloisa’s name to her uncle Aldo’s foundation: aldoleopoldfoundation.org.

As a tribute to Dr Douglas Cohen on his retirement as the head of paediatric surgery at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Camperdown, in 1985, the Douglas Cohen Department of Surgery was established in his name, to recognize his 35 years of service to the health and safety of Australia’s children. He had been awarded the Order of Australia in 1980, and his passion for, and commitment to, the wellbeing of children continued through his life.

She was born in 1917 in Albuquerque, N.M., the third child of famed conservationist Aldo Leopold and Estella Bergere Leopold. Beginning in 1935, Nina spent many happy weekends with her family at the Leopold shack near Baraboo, participating in one of the world’s first wildland restoration projects.

Along with her second husband, Charles Bradley, she rekindled the “axe-in-hand” philosophy of her father, establishing the Bradley Study Center on the Leopold Reserve along the Wisconsin River in 1976. This work included creation of a graduate ecological research program in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin and expansion of the land restoration and phenological observation that her family had begun so many years ago. The work of Nina and Charles was also instrumental in the establishment of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the construction of the Leopold Legacy Center.

Nina will be remembered as a scientist, conservationist, philosopher and humanitarian, as well as for her boundless generosity, wisdom and grace. She has been and will remain an inspiration to all.

Nina is survived by her sister, Dr. Estella Leopold of Seattle, Wash.; her daughters, Nina Loeffel and Trish Stevenson of Wisconsin; her stepchildren, Charles Bradley Jr. of Portage, Wis., and Dorothy Bradley of Clyde Park; along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her brothers, Starker, Luna, and Carl.

Read Carl’s full obituary in the Ithaca Journal.

Read more about Carl’s life achievements on Encyclopedia of Earth.

Visit websites for the Finger Lakes Land Trust and the Tropical Forestry Initiative.

View Carl’s journal entry “A Trip to the Elums” about one of the family’s early excursions to the shack.

See an online photo exhibit pairing Carl’s pictures of the shack in the 1930s and ’40s with images taken by photographer Jill Metcoff today.

Edward (Ned) Brown, MD, passed away on January 11th in Longmont, Colorado, following a year-long struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 77 years old.

Ned was born on January 23, 1931, in Santa Fe, NM, to Robert O. Brown, MD, and Rosina Bergere Luna. After completing elementary school in Santa Fe, he enrolled in St. Marks Preparatory School in Southborough, MA. He was a multiple-sport letterman at St. Marks, excelling in football. He was also a member of the choir and earned many academic honors.

Following graduation from St. Marks, Ned attended Harvard University where he majored in biochemical sciences and pre-medicine and was a member of Harvard’s hockey team. Following graduation from Harvard in 1952, he attended Columbia University, School of Medicine, graduating with a Doctorate of Medicine in 1956. Ned served in the Army Medical Corps earning the rank of Captain while serving in Germany. It was during this time that Ned chose OBGYN as his area of emphasis in medicine. He then completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Cornell/New York Hospital in 1963.

In 1963 Ned moved to Boulder, CO, where he practiced obstetrics and gynecology for over 23 years. In 1987, he moved to Corning, NY, where he continued his practice with the Guthrie Organization. He returned to Colorado in 2000 following his retirement from medicine.

Ned was a very generous and loving person, who experienced his greatest joy when helping others. As a boy, he was heavily influenced by his father’s dedication to medicine and the community. Medicine was Ned’s first love, and the care and well-being of his patients were the first priority in his life. He was an accomplished skier, and served on the Medical Ski Patrol in Keystone, CO, for many years. He enjoyed singing, and was a member of The Harvard Choir and sang a short time in the Longmont Barbershop Quartet. Ned loved to dance. He also was an avid guitarist, and enjoyed singing Spanish folk songs with family and friends. He had a flair for cooking, particularly when preparing the Mexican and southwestern cuisine from his native Santa Fe.

He is preceded in death by a sister, Rosina Smith-Willson, and two brothers, Robert Brown and Leonard Smith. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Gail Ahlberg Brown, daughters Sloane Brown of Baltimore, MD, Lisa Griffin of Aurora, CO, and Phyllis Biederman of Sebastopol, CA, a son Edward (Ned) Brown, of the South Pacific Islands, step-daughters Lisa Stegall-Dokoozlian of Modesto, CA and Holly Stegall of Longmont, CO, sisters Eloisa Brown and Dorcas Titcomb of Albuquerque, NM and grandchildren Kate and Michele Griffin of Aurora, CO, Drew and Tula Biederman of Sebastopol, CA and Bailey, Nicholas and Benjamin Dokoozlian of Modesto, CA.

Special thanks go out to VistaCare Hospice, brother-in-law Van Ahlberg, and wife Gail’s family for their loving and dedicated care during Ned’s illness.

A memorial service will be held at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Longmont, CO on Friday, January 23, at 1 PM.

LEE RECENTLY MENTIONED THAT SHE HAS HAD MANY LIVES.

WHEN WWII BROKE OUT, DURING THE UK BLITZ, LEE WAS SENT TO THE US TO LIVE WITH HER BROTHER JOE WHO WAS 26 YEARS OLDER THAN SHE. SHE ARRIVED IN THE US ON HER 15TH BIRTHDAY.

JOE WAS A FATHER FIGURE MORE THAN A BROTHER AND LEE WAS NOT ACCUSTOMED TO BEING TOLD SHE COULDN’T HAVE OR DO WHAT SHE WANTED.

SHE WAS NOW IN A STRANGE COUNTRY AWAY FROM HER PARENTS WAITING TO BE REUNITED WITH THEM IN AUSTRALIA.

SHE WAS 16 AND IN SCHOOL WHEN “THE TELEGRAM” ARRIVED FROM HER BROTHER BARNEY IN LONDON. HER BROTHER JOE PICKED HER UP FROM SCHOOL AND INFORMED HER OF THE DEATH OF HER PARENTS.

HER PARENTS WERE LEAVING ENGLAND BY OCEAN LINER TO ESCAPE THE BOMBING FROM THE WAR.

THEIR SHIP THE PORT TOWNSVILLE WAS ONE HOUR OUT OF PORT IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN WHEN IT CAME UNDER FIRE FROM THE GERMANS.

FRANK AND AIDA BERGER WERE KILLED ON MARCH 3, 1941. THEY WERE THE ONLY FATIALITES.

HER FIRST LIFE WAS OVER.

AT A USO DANCE IN NEW YORK ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1942, RED ARNOLD CAUGHT THE EYE OF A YOUNG 17 YEAR OLD NAMED LEE BERGER. LEE SAID SHE CHASED RED UNTIL SHE FINALLY CAUGHT HIM. AFTER JOE GRANTED PERMISSION THEY WERE MARRIED ON SEPTEMBER 4, 1943. AFTER THE WAR LEE AND RED MOVED TO SWEENY, TEXAS. THIS MOVE TO A REFINERY TOWN WAS A SHOCK TO LEE.

AFTER SEVERAL CHILDLESS YEARS THEY DECIDED TO ADOPT AN OLDER CHILD.

WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN AMARILLO, TEXAS, TO MEET “THE” CHILD THERE STOOD THREE PITIFUL LOOKING CHILDREN NEEDING A FAMILY. THEY WENT BACK TO THE MOTEL TALKED ABOUT THE MEETING AND SAID WE WILL TAKE ALL THREE.

RED DIED ON JANUARY 8, 1976, AND NOW HER SECOND LIFE WAS OVER.

SHE MOVED FROM SWEENY TO THE BIG CITY OF HOUSTON. SHE MET AND MARRIED TOM AHYSEN AND MOVED TO ARIZONA. AFTER 20+ YEARS OF MARRIAGE TOM DIED.

HER THIRD LIFE WAS OVER.
WE MOVED LEE FROM ARIZONA TO SAM RAYBURN IN EAST TEXAS. THERE SHE ENJOYED LIFE PLAYING BRIDGE AND HAPPY HOUR (5:00 pm SHARP) WITH HER NEW FRIENDS.

AFTER HAVING “TWO” MISHAPS WITH 18 WHEELERS WE DECIDED TO TAKE HER CAR. SHE MOVED TO GREATWOOD RETIREMENT HOME AND LASTED 7 DAYS. SHE CALLED US ON SUNDAY AND SAID SHE HAD MADE ARRANGEMENTS WITH MOVERS TO MOVE HER BACK TO RAYBURN.

WE HAD SOLD HER CAR SO WE DROVE HER BACK AND HAD A VERY QUIET TRIP. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER SHE CALLED AND SAID SHE HAD BOUGHT A NEW CAR.

MANY WORDS HAVE BEEN USED TO DESCRIB LEE, ONE BEING ONERY, OPINIONATED, FIESTY AND WELL WORDS WE CAN’T USE IN CHURCH.

 
THIS RETURN TO SAM RAYBURN LASTED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND SHE WAS MOVED BACK TO HOUSTON TO THE TERRACE RETIREMENT HOME. ONCE AGAIN WE SOLD HER CAR AT A GREAT LOSS.

LIVING AT THE TERRACE WAS THE BEGINNING OF HER FINAL LIFE. LEE ENJOYED HER LIFE AT THE TERRACE AND WAS INVOLVED IN THE ACTIVITIES THEY OFFERED.

MAY 23, 2008, WAS THE BEGINNING OF HER FINAL JOURNEY. HER WEAK BODY COULD NOT FIGHT OFF THE PNEUMONIA AND ON JUNE 6, 2008 HER WORLDLY JOURNEY WAS OVER.

SHE WILL BE MISSED. THE EVENING OF HER DEATH A MARTINI WAS PREPAIRED AND THE FAMILY MEMBERS TOOK ONE LAST SIP TO TOAST HER. SHE DIED AT 5:00 PM HAPPY HOUR. SHE WOULD HAVE LAUGHED!!

LEE WILL FINALLY BE REUNITED WITH HER BELOVED FATHER AND MOTHER IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 67 YEAR LATER.

SHE WILL BE MISSED!!

SANDRA & ALTON