Arthur Brown, 81
Arthur Brown passed away Feb. 9, 2022, in Surprise, Ariz. He was 81.
Art was born Oct. 27, 1940, in Germiston, South Africa to Harry and Elsa Brown. He was the eldest of three children and had two sisters. He was preceded in death by his sister Veronica Delport of South Africa and survived by Aloma Moore of England.
Art attended school in Germiston and went on to study at Wiwatersrand Technical Institute earning a mining engineering degree. Soon after graduating, he left his homeland to work for The Cementation Company in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada in 1962.
It was in Nelson where his immigrant love story began. He met Tiia, a recent graduate in physical therapy and immigrant from Estonia. When Art was temporarily paralyzed in an underground mining accident, Tiia taught him how to walk again and six months later walked him down the aisle. Their daughters Lisa and Hayley came along shortly thereafter in 1963 and 1964 respectively.
Art arrived in the USA on June 26, 1967, with Tiia and their two very young daughters. He had been offered a job as an Industrial Engineer for Hecla Mining Company, headquartered in Wallace, Idaho. Art’s American Dream story started here! After a few years he was promoted to mine superintendent at Lucky Friday Mine. He worked hard as a mine supervisor but also enjoyed the outdoors and took the family skiing, camping, and even spent time on stage in the local theatrical group. Art moved the family to Pinehurst, Idaho, in 1972 shortly after adding another daughter Laura to the ranks of females surrounding him. This year also marked a milestone for Art as he and Tiia, Lisa and Hayley all became U.S. citizens. He continued to work hard, climbing the Hecla corporate ladder, advancing to the rank of President in 1986, the same year Hecla’s headquarters and the Brown family moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Art reached the pinnacle of his career as CEO and chairman of the board for Hecla in a career that spanned four decades.
What made Art amazing is that he still made time to travel with his daughters to ski races, basketball games, tennis matches, 4-H horse shows and be the biggest cheerleader in any event his family members were participating in. The trend continued with his grandchildren at football, basketball and baseball games, cross-country meets, golf tournaments, and soccer matches. He was such a proud “Papa” and could always be heard bragging about his grandkids.
Two of Art’s greatest loves were travel and golf. He was thankful that he was in a position to generously share these loves with his family and friends. Countless vacations to places all over the world were planned, including a month-long trip in 2011 to South Africa with all his girls, their spouses, and kids. It was the same with golf … adventure after adventure with his family and buddies.
Art was known for his goofy stories and jokes, and so many were drawn to his Afrikaner accent and his gregarious, outgoing personality. He loved an evening surrounded by family and friends, enjoying a meal (Art was the cook in the family), a great cigar, a fine scotch or bottle of wine and story after story.
He shared his enthusiasm for life with everyone he knew and was always willing to listen and help solve problems. He was genuinely interested in everyone he met and was loved by all. Art will be missed but never, ever forgotten. He is survived by his wife Tiia; three daughters Lisa Callahan (Mike), Hayley McGonigle (Mac), and Laura Taylor (Brian); four grandchildren Arthur (AJ) and Andrew Black and Alex and Emily Callahan; nephews and nieces Johan Delport (Patti), Elsie Taktikos (Tas), Richard (Francesca); and several great-nephews and nieces.
A celebration of life is being planned by the family in late summer or early fall in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Details to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to The Brown Family Foundation, c/o Northwest Trustee & Management Services, PO Box 18969, Spokane, Wash., 99228. The mission of The Arthur and Tiia Brown Family Foundation may be found at http://www.thebrownfamilyfoundation.org
