William E Brownlee Jr

William “Bill” Brownlee, Jr, 87, passed peacefully in his sleep on June 3, 2020 in Lincoln, MA due to complications related to dementia.  

He was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy (Propp) in 2014 and daughter, Pamela Sue in 1971 along with his two sisters and parents.  He leaves behind his son Bill and his wife Jeanne (Peoria, AZ); his daughter Patty and her husband Fazil Cakmak (Belmont, MA); grandson Alex (Scottsdale, AZ); granddaughter Jenna (Phoenix, AZ); granddaughter Neyla (Belmont, MA) and his sister Ruby and her husband Dean (Weldona, CO).

Born on October 3, 1932 in Garden Plain, KS to William and Nellie Brownlee, he spent most of his youth in Fort Morgan, CO and the Weldon Valley area. Bill married his sweetheart Nancy in 1952 prior to joining the U.S. Air Force. He served during the end of the Korean War and was stationed at Mather Air Force Base in California. He proudly served his country and continued to be a dedicated member of the American Legion for 44 years and of the Elks Lodge for 61 years.

After the service and completion of barber school in Denver, he and his family returned to Fort Morgan. For the next 17 years, Bill owned and operated Park Lane Barber and Beauty Shop. He was an active member of the Fort Morgan community and spent countless hours playing golf with friends at the Fort Morgan Country Club and bowling on leagues.  

Bill and his family moved to Akron, CO in 1976 and remained a member of the community until 2014. He and Nancy owned and operated The Akron Lounge and Akron Barber Shop for several years. His true passion in life, besides his family and golf, were thoroughbred racehorses.  In 1989 together with his son, they started B&B Thoroughbred Racing.  For the next 23 years until he retired in 2012, he raised, raced, and trained thoroughbred horses in Colorado, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas and Minnesota. He spent his winters in Phoenix at Turf Paradise and summers in Akron and Denver at Arapahoe Park. His love of watching the horse races on TV and driving to local horse farms were activities he enjoyed until his passing.     

In 2014, after the sudden death of his beloved wife of 62 years, Bill moved to Belmont, MA to be near his daughter Patty and her family.  He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and anyone who had the opportunity to know him. Bill was a devoted husband, father, brother, and grandfather.  His sense of humor and iconic sayings will be remembered for years to come by those who knew and loved him. 

A graveside service will be held on Friday, June 12 at 1 p.m. in Memory Gardens Cemetery in Fort Morgan. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Alzheimer’s Association – alz.org.

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