Obituary: Mary Arlene Brown

Mary Arlene Brown passed away Feb. 25, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nev., due to complications from emergency surgery. Her children, Marlin Brown, Marilee Rippy (both of Glenwood Springs, Colo.) and Melissa Kindall (of Meeker, Colo.) were at her side.
Arlene was born at the family home in New Castle, Colo., on Oct. 29, 1935. She attended school and was graduated from high school as a New Castle Tiger. She spent countless days as a child on a ranch in Piceance Creek with the Busby family.
She met Marvin Robert Brown at the Silt Bar and Café and danced him off of his feet. They were married Jan. 10, 1953, and had three children over the next six years. They lived as a couple in the house in which she was born, raising their family.
In 1966, when RE-2 schools consolidated, necessitating students being bused to Rifle to attend high school, they decided to move to Glenwood Springs. Arlene got a job as the secretary of the middle school and worked during the summer months as a Mountain Bell telephone operator. She was active in the Democratic Party, acting as a precinct committeewoman. She campaigned hard for Gov. Dick Lamm, Sen. Gary Hart and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dick.
After Marvin’s death in 1976, Arlene went to college, studied her first year at Colorado Mountain College then moved on to the University of Northern Colorado, where she earned a degree in psychology. She tried her hand at social work when she returned home taking in a group of foster children but soon discovered her psychology skills were put to better use in the hospitality and retail arenas. She worked at Marc’s Toys and Pets, Sioux Villa Curio, Village Inn, K-Bob’s Steakhouse, and Buffalo Valley. She began snow birding to Bullhead City, Ariz., and working at the casinos across the river in Laughlin, Nev. Eventually, she made the move to the warm climate permanent. In 2003, she moved to Las Vegas and began working in the gift shops at the Excalibur Casino, chatting with every customer who walked through the door. After her retirement in October 2012, she spent her time sending surprise packages to her seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, putting together photo albums and organizing family reunions. She will be remembered as woman always full of vim and vigor, strength and great self-will from having been widowed at age 41.
Memorial services were held at the New Castle Recreation Center in downtown New Castle, Colo., on Sunday, March 16, 2014, at 12:30 p.m. A wonderful crowd of old and new friends and family celebrated her life. The afternoon was complete with an extra-special lunch provided by Halandras Catering.