Billings Brown

Billings Brown, born in Seattle in 1920, died May 23, 2012, from causes incident to age. He lived actively and productively in Seattle, Virginia, and Utah. He loved the outdoors and was an avid hiker and conservationist. Having earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering, he established the Chemical Engineering department at BYU and taught there for several years, as well as at the University of Utah and the University of Washington. Perhaps the teaching he liked best, however, was at the dining room table tutoring his own children and the many, many students who visited often. He was instrumental in advancing scientific knowledge, especially in the field of aerospace technology. He kept his scientific curiosity throughout his life, and conducted experiments well into his retirement years. He enjoyed working with Boy Scouts on various merit badges, especially those involving science and the outdoors. He served during WWII as beach master on the first Pacific island invasion by US forces at Adak, Alaska in August 1942. (He was assigned this duty because of his scouting experiences in the Northwest.) He helped construct and maintain an airfield there for the duration of the war.

After the war ended, he met and married Barbara Ellen Handy in 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple; he is survived by their seven children: Paul H.(Kathryn), Zina L. Kincaid (Robert), Russell A., Rosemary E. Smith (Todd), Thomas C;(Lisa), Blaine W.(Karen), and David B.(Sarah); twenty-nine grandchildren; and fifteen great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Barbara, his grandson Stephen, and great-granddaughter Margaret. Of the defining moments in his life, perhaps the most trying was leading the search and rescue efforts when his wife Barbara became lost in the wilds of the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming in 1974. The family is still grateful to all for helping us through that adventure. In his later years, he enjoyed helping everyone in the neighborhood with various auto, plumbing, electrical, and home repairs. He is undoubtedly even now voicing his opinion in this next phase of his life.

Friends are encouraged to share memories with the family at Holbrook Mortuary (3251 South 2300 East, Salt Lake City) on Friday, May 25, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., and at the chapel Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Funeral services will be held at the Millcreek Canyon Ward chapel (3640 East Millstream Lane (3510 South)), which he tirelessly helped to maintain for decades, Saturday, May 26, 2012, at noon. Interment will be Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. at the Ben Lomond Cemetery in North Ogden. Online tributes to the family may be posted at: www.holbrookmortuary.com