Buddy ( May 9, 1952-January 2, 1970) was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to parents Joan and Joe Browne, Jr. He was the third child, with big sisters Colleen and Suky and little brother Steve ( born in 1954).

Buddy, Suky, Buddy, Colleen 1954

Granny (Reba) holding Buddy, Colleen, Granny Bigham (Mary) holding Suky, Freddie Winter and Mary in Granny’s backyard

Steve, Colleen, Buddy, Suky at Mamie and Pappy’s house in 1954

Suky and Buddy above, Buddy around 1955

Buddy, 1955

Buddy and Steve around 1957

Buddy around 1956 in Trinidad on the switch engine

Buddy and Steve, 1958

Buddy and Blanchie going on the train to Denver around 1959

Buddy’s car that he made. Some of the neighborhood kids are there – one of the Hurleys, Jeff Shaw and Scott Chambers, and Sally, the Shaw’s dog. Buddy’s driving in the bottom picture and Steve’s in the back seat.

Much of the 1950s and early 60s for the Browne kids was spent at their grandparents’ house on Montclaire. (Clyde and Mabel Roper). Pappy let us use his tools for projects and Mamie didn’t object too much when we tore up the yard for miniature golf, forts and other projects. There were plenty of neighborhood kids (Shaws, Purtells, Hurleys, Ann Nichols, Cacciatores, Chambers, Nolans and Tommy Clark). Buddy usually had a project or was building a fort to play war.

Across the street in the above picture is the Loftin’s house – their cat Millie had kittens every year, and they left their garage door open for us to come and play with them.

Buddy liked to earn money and keep track of it by doing chores like mowing the lawn, raking apples, etc. The high point of summer was the trip to see Blanchie and Roy in Trinidad, Colorado. Here’s a couple of letters from Buddy in Trinidad, and one to the girls when they were in Trinidad.

In about 1966, the family moved to Peralta, NM. He worked at the Bosque Farm Dairy for a couple of years while in high school.

Steve, Suky and Buddy on a fishing trip about1966

Buddy in Peralta about 1967

He went to stay with his dad, Joe Browne in Rockport, Texas for a time in 1968.

Bill and Buddy on the barge in Rockport, above Buddy and Colleen at Aransas Pass Wildlife Refuge

On January 2, 1970, Buddy died in a car accident. He was 17 1/2, a senior at Los Lunas High School. He was a son, a grandson and a brother, and for all of us it was a devastating loss.

Buddy

Brother

Uncle

Great uncle