William E. Brown

William E. Brown

William (Bill) E. Brown passed away on May 1, 2016. He was 86 years old.

Brown was a writer, historian and park planner who served 30-plus years in the National Park Service. He was a member of the Alaska Task Force of the 1970s which prepared the legislation passed by Congress as ANILCA in 1980. His book celebrating the Alaska national parklands, “This Last Treasure,” was published in 1982 and re-issued in 2005. Retiring to Gustavus in 1991, Brown continued his passionate advocacy for wild places and traditional lifeways.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Elder, three sons by his first marriage (Darwin, Randy and Ken), and two sons by his marriage to Carolyn (Daniel and Zachary), five grandsons and one granddaughter.

A celebration of life will take place Aug. 6 in Gustavus. Contact zacharywestbrown@gmail.com for more information.