Douglass Harold Brown

Douglass Harold Brown was born on 11 August 1948. The eldest child of Jack and Barbara Brown, Doug grew with two younger brothers and a sister, and graduated from Midland Lee High School in 1966. Doug then completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Doug then began a very eclectic professional career.

Doug started his career in 1970, at Texas Research Institute of Mental Services. A short time after, he met Martha Singleton and they were married in June of 1973. Later that year, Doug took a full-time position with DOW Chemical and began coursework at the University of Houston. After completing a degree for Chemical Engineering in 1976, Doug and Martha moved to Austin, Texas, where he worked for Radion Corporation.

Doug and Martha had their first son in 1977 and Doug took a job in Vernon, Texas, with the Celanese Corporation. This is the world’s largest guar gum processing plant. (Guar gum is a thickening agent used in many things—just read the labels next time you’re at the grocery store.) Before they left Texas in 1982, Doug and Martha had three more children: two boys and a girl.

Early in 1982, Doug accepted plant manager job with GENEX in Paducah, Kentucky. Doug remained with GENEX until 1985, when he moved the family to Colorado. After settling in Johnstown, Doug was the plant manager for Coors Biotech from 1985 until 1998. The Johnstown facility processed corn from nearby farms in order to make high fructose corn syrup as well as extract vitamin B12. All remaining material was processed into cattle feed and returned to the local agricultural community.

In addition to his managerial duties in Johnstown, Doug was heavily involved with several development projects for the larger Coors corporation. From 1990 to 1995, Doug was in charge of a joint project between the Coors Corporation and the Meiji Corporation of Japan. During those years, Doug made numerous trips to Japan and spent many hours to develop a probiotic and sugar replacement product called fructooligosaccharides (or FOS). Released under the name NutraFlora, FOS can now be found under several other brand names.

Early in 1996, Doug met Kay Watson. They married that August. Without hesitation, Doug eagerly took on the role of father to Kay’s four children. During their twenty happy years together, Doug and Kay raised four dogs. He and Kay were active members of Faith Evangelical Church and especially enjoyed singing in the choir.

Between 1999 and 2004, Doug’s professional career took him to many places. In 1999, Doug and Kay moved to Butte, Montana, for a job with Montech. This company, now called Resodyn, specializes in ultrasonic resonant mixing. Doug’s next move was to Granger, Indiana, in 2000. There, he worked for a company called Genencor. More specifically, he worked on industrial enzymes. One product from this facility was glucoamylase—something used in laundry soaps to remove starchy compounds. In 2002, Doug took a job at Mississippi Lime. The plant in St. Louis, Missouri, processed limestone into many everyday products. Unfortunately, Doug left this position due to professional conflicts.

In 2004, Doug and Kay finally moved back to Colorado. Doug accepted a position at CPP Wind Engineering. This company provides testing and consulting for architects to ensure safe building designs and also studies airflow impact to help environmental Engineers. A few of the projects include Sports Authority Field and Mile High Stadium, Abu Dhabi’s Sun and Sky Towers, and also the world’s first circular skyscraper.

Doug’s most recent work began in 2011 with a company called CGRS Consulting. As an environmental engineering firm, CGRS provides clean-up and improvement services to outdated gas stations. CGRS also provides oilfield services, such as cleaning water that has been used for fracking. Of all the jobs he held, Doug loved working with CGRS and they truly appreciated having him.

Doug is survived by a large family: his loving wife Kay; his four children: Paul Brown (wife Lynne), Andrew Brown (wife Kelsey), Matthew Brown (wife Carolyn), and Rebecca Longmore (wife Jennifer); his four step-children: Paul Watson (wife Melissa), Nancy Mast (husband Tony), Timothy Watson (wife Jami), and Joel Watson; his siblings: brother Greg Brown (wife Michelle), brother Tim Brown (wife Mary Jane), sister Marj Leeds (husband Mark), almost a dozen grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Doug was a loving husband, father, step-father, and grandfather. He was also a kind friend and co-worker. Doug delighted spending time outdoors: hiking, camping, and taking long walks with his dogs. Doug was a voracious reader with an incredible sense of humor and a great appreciation for music. Doug was an interesting man, able to balance a scientific mind with a spiritual heart and devout faith in Christ the Redeemer.