Telling punchlines to fellow ROMEOs - Retired Old Men Eating Out - is not the greatest of Harry Brown’s many accolades, but it is a homage to his dedication for friends and family, who will miss him dearly. Brown died at his home in Whitefish on Feb. 9 at the age of 91. 

“People like Harry grew Whitefish. He was a great family man and tremendous person,” said Tony Hernandez, a longtime friend. “He was always the first one there and never missed. He always referred to ROMEO as a brotherhood. And we were. We were just like brothers.” 

Brown was born in 1933 in Pittsburgh. He enlisted in the Navy and served in the Korean War. He met the love of his life, Nancy May, at Penn State. They married in 1958, moved to Chicago, and took their first ski trip to Whitefish in 1971. In 1978, they made the dream happen and moved to Whitefish, where they quickly became involved in the community. 

In 2013, Brown was crowned as King Ullr LIV and Nancy as Queen of the Snows in the Whitefish Winter Carnival LIV. 

In Harry’s acceptance speech, he recalled his first visit to Whitefish in 1971, and how snow was lightly falling as he stepped off the Empire Builder train at the depot.  

After all his years in Whitefish, Harry said he realized it’s not the mountains or lake or skiing that makes Whitefish so special. 

“It’s the people,” he said. 

Longtime friend Bart Erickson said he first met the Browns when they moved to Whitefish and became neighbors on Lion Mountain.  

“’Who are you?’ were the first words he ever said to me, when we walked over,” Erickson said. “From that austere beginning, our families became friends and later would lash our boats together.”  

Erickson joked that though political opposites, they shared common values through a devotion to family, mutual friends and the Montana Grizzlies.  

A February 2013 letter to the editor of the Whitefish Pilot titled “Browns committed to the town they love,” Pat Sullivan wrote that “Harry was active in many businesses and was instrumental in adding the flowers on Central Avenue in the mid-1980s.”  

“He and many others helped found the Whitefish Downtown Association to keep the community together when the mall opened.   

“Nancy was the smiling face as you entered the First National Bank (Glacier Bank.) She was the Clint Eastwood of Whitefish because she just made everyone’s day. Just like the Abells, the Akeys, the Atkinsons, the Dowalibys, the Heilmans, the Strausers, Jim Trout, John Kramer, the Nelson brothers, Gary Stephens and so many others, Harry and Nancy have worked to keep the many traditions, including the Winter Carnival, alive in Whitefish. 

“It is because of this commitment to a community that they love that Whitefish is such a wonderful community to live and raise a family.” 

AS STRONG supporters of the Whitefish Bulldogs, Harry and Nancy Brown attended countless games and meets. They were awarded Whitefish Bulldog Superfans by the Montana High School Association. Brown also coached Whitefish High School tennis and he was an assistant coach of Whitefish youth football programs.

“Harry was devoted to friends and to his community,” said longtime friend Marshall Friedman.  

“He was warm, kind and had a wonderful sense of humor. Harry taught us a lot just by example,” Friedman said. “Harry embraced every good quality that any person can have. We are all better people for having known him.” 

But above all else, he was extremely devoted to his wonderful family, Friedman said.  

Hernandez said that you couldn’t help but fall in love with the whole family. 

“If you had to define a gentleman at the head of a family, it was Harry Brown,” Hernandez said.  

Hernandez announced for the Glacier Range Riders for a few years and recalled a memorable game.  

“Once in a while, Harry would tell me, ‘I’m buying tickets for the game and I’m bringing the whole family.’ 

“When one game ended, I was tidying things up. I walked out into the parking lot, and I just heard applause.  

“It was the whole family applauding me. It almost brought tears to my eyes - because that’s just who they are.”  

PART OF being a father figure was mastering the art of what many described as “groaner” jokes, his friends said.  

“We’d be talking about something serious,” Friedman said, “and Harry would say ‘Can I chime in on this?’ We all knew what was coming.”  

His stories usually started with something like saying he signed a million-dollar contract with the Steelers, only to reveal later down the line that he couldn’t get them to sign.  

Jokes aside, “I will always love him and I will always think of him as a human being,” Hernandez said. “I wish I had been able to spend more time with him, and the time we did have, I will always remember,” Hernandez said. 

More details on Brown’s life are in his obituary.  

A celebration of life will be scheduled this summer. People are encouraged to send donations to causes in lieu of flowers. Brown’s favorite causes included the Whitefish Bulldog Booster Club, Whitefish Shines and the Whitefish Community Foundation.

    A Brown family photo taken near Kila in August 2018. At the time, Harry and Nancy Brown renewed their vows. (Photo provided)