BROWNLEE, Dale H.

The Daily Courier, Prescott, AZ - March 1, 2010 Dale H. Brownlee, 79, of Prescott, Ariz., born April 19, 1930, in Sayre, Okla., passed away Feb. 27, 2010, at the Peridot in Prescott, Ariz. Visitation is from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 6, 2010, followed by a celebration of life at 11 a.m. at the Skull Valley Bible Church in Skull Valley. Graveside committal will be after the service at the Skull Valley Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ALS Association, Arizona Chapter, 4643 E. Thomas, Suite 1, Phoenix, AZ 85018, or Skull Valley Bible Church, P.O. Box 215, Skull Valley, AZ 86338. Arizona Ruffner Wakelin Funeral Home assisted the family with final arrangements. ------------------- The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Dale H. Brownlee, beloved husband, loving dad, papaw and great-papaw, gently passed into glory in Prescott, Ariz., on Feb. 27 in the year of our Lord 2010. He was 79 years old. Dale was born on a farm northwest of a little village called Doxey, Okla., on April 19, 1930, to Archie and Ruby Brownlee. He was the youngest of four children. He climbed the fence to ride his horse to herd the milk cows in at age five. When he was six, he was given a milk bucket and was expected to go milk some of the 18-20 cows that they were milking morning and evening. These chores had to be done and breakfast eaten before the school bus came by at 7:20 a.m. Dale had a chauffeur's license as he helped his dad farm and drove and delivered the cream, et cetera, to town for his parents. At 16, it was war time and the school hired him to drive the school bus and bring the children to and from school. He married his high school sweetheart. Together they dated in an old pickup without brakes and without a floorboard! They graduated in 1948, and were married in August. Dale worked at a grocery store and then his sister and brother-in-law, Merle and Argy Belle, wanted Dale and Louella to take care of their farm as they moved to Kansas. Dale's Dad gave them six cows and some chickens too! The first year they got washed out. The second year, no rain - and the wind blew and burned their cotton crop off at the ground. The third year their first daughter was born, and the hospital bill took all their crop money. Donald and Mildred Armstrong (high school friends) invited them to look for work where they were, at the Bagdad Copper Mine. The first time they drove through Skull Valley, Ariz., Dale dreamed of having a little piece of land to garden with a home there. In 1952, Dale began working in the old mill on clean-up. In 1956, they were blessed with a second daughter. Dale enjoyed the fellowship at their little church in Bagdad and grand times singing gospel quartet and praise with their girls at the keyboards and Mom's prayers. He always tried to acknowledge the blessings God gave throughout all the years in Bagdad and on to Skull Valley, where they did build their retirement home in 1981 on three acres of land. Before he left the old mill, he had run every job from clean-up, pan feed, crusher, on up to the Molly plant. Dale coordinated the start-up and wrote operational and safety manuals for the NEW 40,000 tpd concentrator. He was the general foreman and oversaw all operations. Dale is survived by his beloved wife, Ona Louella; two daughters, Loretta Gaye Bazzill and Melinda Sue Hirte; sons-in-law, John Bazzill and Todd Hirte; grandsons Ryan Bazzill and Stephen Hirte; granddaughters Jenny Kreighbaum and Stacy Hirte; grandson-in-law Andrew Kreighbaum; great-granddaughters Morgan, Bailey and Bryn Louella Kreighbaum; great-grandsons Ephraim and Asher Kreighbaum; sister Argy Belle Wilson and brother Glen (and Mary) Brownlee, both of Kansas; one sister-in-law, Delpha Brownlee of Oklahoma; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by brother Harold Brownlee and brother-in-law Merle Wilson. Visitation is from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, March 6, 2010, followed by a celebration of life at 10 a.m. at the Skull Valley Bible Church in Skull Valley, Ariz. Graveside committal will be after the service at the Skull Valley Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ALS Association, Arizona Chapter, 4643 E. Thomas, Suite 1, Phoenix, AZ 85018, or Skull Valley Bible Church, P.O. Box 215, Skull Valley, AZ 86338. Arizona Ruffner Wakelin Funeral Home assisted the family with final arrangements. Information provided by survivors.