Frank Brown - NCAA racer, Olympian
University of Colorado three-time All-American Frank Elliott Brown, 79, died on June 4, 2016 in his hometown of McCall, Idaho.
After skiing and jumping as a teenager, Frank joined the University of Colorado ski team and was named All-American in both alpine and Nordic in 1957, ’58 and ’59—the first CU athlete to “three-peat” as an All-American. He anchored the team that won the university’s first-ever NCAA championship, in any sport, in 1959. The team was inducted into the CU Hall of Fame in 2006. At the 1960 Winter Olympic slalom, Frank had a disastrous first run but finished 12th in the second run to come in 37th overall.
During his college years, Frank married Sherlene Lawhorn. They settled in Boise, Idaho where Frank began a career in property development and management, operating hotels, restaurants and ski retail stores. In 1986 he returned to McCall to work with his family developing King’s Pines Estates.
In 1970, he met and married Judy Rader. In 1997, Frank was seriously injured in a small plane crash in the Idaho backcountry, and the couple moved to Maui to aid his breathing.
Frank is survived by his wife Judy; sons Charlie, Warren, and Stanley (Kristine) Brown and daughter Amy (Christopher) Clark; sister Diane Brown (Judd) DeBoer; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. —S.M.