Robert Cooper Brown
Robert Cooper Brown, Jr., 82, passed away peacefully on November 15, 2021. Cooper was born at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois on August 17, 1939, to parents Robert Cooper and Anita (von Buelow) Brown.
He spent his early years in Park Ridge, Illinois, attending Park Ridge Military Academy and Maine Township High School, and then went on to St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota.
After his schooling, he went to work for his father in the family owned business, von Buelow Jewelers in Park Ridge. He excelled in his work and joined the American Gem Society, in which he served as president for a year. He was a top notch salesman and a great asset to the family business.
When the family business was sold in 1963, he and his new bride, Linda LaVerne (nee Lansdon) Brown loaded up a UHaul and moved west to California. They eventually settled in Pasadena where he worked for many years with J. Herbert Hall Jewelers, where he and Mr. Hall enjoyed a close and mutually honoring friendship. When the business was sold to outside interests, Cooper gathered up his family and chose to take a different path. He held a variety of jobs, but the one he enjoyed the most was bartending at Fess Parker’s Red Lion Inn in Santa Barbara, California. He was the “king” of the piano bar, and his charisma charmed all the customers.
When Cooper’s father passed away in 1993, Cooper moved down to Desert Hot Springs, California to live with and care for his mother. By the time his mother passed away in 2010, he found that he really loved living in the desert and decided to continue to make that his home. He enjoyed living at the Caliente Springs Resort, in the same mobile home that his parents had brought to the resort back in 1985, being the first residents of the newly opened resort.
Cooper is survived by his son Cooper (Laura) Brown, III of Carson City, Nevada; daughter Ramona (Chris) Higley of Grass Valley, California; son Michael Brown of Sherwood, Oregon; and eight grandchildren – Travis, Caitlin and Nicole Brown; Austin, Erika and Vance Higley; Michael and Anna Brown. He is also survived by his three sisters, Valerie Stevens of Grants Pass, Oregon; Pat (Don) Darling of Dillon, Montana; and Judy Sarena of Goleta, California.
The family wishes to thank the wonderful and caring staff of Banning Health Care. We could not have asked for a better place to entrust Cooper’s care. And thanks also to VITAS Hospice Healthcare for their consistent and faithful caring. God bless each and every one of you.