Knox Brookfield

KNOX BROOKFIELD, 96, passed away peacefully on January 6, 2013 at his home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Born in Chicago, Illinois, April 20, 1916, Knox was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. His father, Arthur Dutton Brookfield, was the founder of Unitog Manufacturing Company. Growing up, Knox and his younger siblings, Dutton and Barbara, worked during summers in the mailroom, wrapping and shipping out orders. His mother, Elisabeth (Betty) Blish from Kewanee, Illinois, had a considerable musical talent; with her lovely contralto voice she was popular in local musicals and as a soloist in church choirs. When Knox was about ten, she sent him to the Conservatory of Music to learn to play the piano. After two lessons, the teacher called Betty and said, ""It is a waste of your money and my time"". However, Knox had a talent for drawing and his family suggested he study architecture at the University of Michigan, where his father had graduated in 1901. Knox received degrees in Architecture and Engineering from Michigan in 1939. After college, Knox moved back to Kansas City and worked as an architect for the company building the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. Always interested in aviation, he got his pilot's license in 1941. In 1942, he joined the Army Air Corps and received his wings a year later. He spent most of WWII as a B-24 instructor flying at the Harlingen, Texas air base. The dropping of the atomic bombs cancelled his orders to fly B-29s in the Pacific Theatre. Always a ""civilian in khaki"", he was one of the first in line to be discharged back into civilian life. He and Ruth Alice Steele were married on September 26, 1944. They lived outside of Kansas City in Johnson County, Kansas where they raised three children: Libbie, Becky and Mark. Ruth joined Knox in all of his activities: she waded trout streams in the Ozarks, played golf wherever they went, learned to ski with him after his retirement, and became his ""first mate"" when he purchased his first boat when he was 80 years old. They were devoted to each other and Knox said that he had a happy life ""because he married the girl he fell in love with"". In 1973, Knox retired at age 56 from his business selling steel construction products and moved to Evergreen, Colorado. He had two young grandchildren whom he adored living in Denver. Kimberly and Jamie Squires had their own bedrooms in the house Knox designed in Evergreen, and for years they spent weekends and summers with their grandparents. He took them swimming, taught them to ski, and went with them on raft trips on the Arkansas and Colorado Rivers. Later, when his grandchildren Grace, Allie and Tomas Brookfield came along, they would all go swimming with their grandfather when they visited in the summer. All five remember him taking them to the Denver Zoo and when they became weary half way through the visit, he would have to carry them on his shoulders back to the car. In Evergreen, he was an active member of The Church of the Transfiguration. Beginning in 1984, Knox enjoyed the many winters he and Ruth spent in Bonita Beach, Florida. He liked tooling around in his deck boat, stopping off at seaside cafes for lunch, usually accompanied by his brother-in-law, Jim Steele. In Florida he, Jim and Ruth would play golf one day and the next day Gloria, Jim's wife, would join them on the boat, looking for dolphins and manatee. When his third grandchild, Grace Brookfield visited, he let her run the boat, something her cousins were never allowed to do. When Knox was 79, his doctor told him that he had polycystic kidney disease. As this disease usually manifests itself in one's 40's, it was decided he had ""late onset"" kidney disease. Doctors monitored his health and it was not until thirteen years later, at age 91 that he went on dialysis three times a week. Before this happened, he and Ruth moved to an independent retirement complex in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Refusing to use a cane or walker, he held onto Ruth's upper arm when they left their apartment. His eyesight and hearing were good and his mind was sharp, although he complained that his sort-term memory was poor. In reality- as Ruth believed – he had ""selective"" memory, remembering only what he thought was important. He enjoyed Christmas Day with most of his family in attendance at his grandson's home in Denver. On Monday, December 31st, he was too weak to get out of bed, and Hospice was called in. His children and grandchildren arrived and with Hospice support, the family tended to his needs. He visited with his family until Friday, January 4th when he became nonresponsive. He died at 5 p.m. on Sunday, January 6, 2013. Knox will be remembered for his integrity, dry sense of humor, humility and most of all, his generosity. Knox is survived by his wife, Ruth Steele Brookfield; daughters Elisbeth Silberman of San Francisco, California, Rebecca Brookfield of Denver, Colorado, and son Mark Knox Brookfield of Iowa City, Iowa; His grandchildren Kimberly Brookfield Squires of San Francisco, California, James Robert Squires, Jr. of Denver, Colorado, Grace Hernden of Denver, Colorado, Alejandra and Thomas Brookfield of Iowa City, Iowa; Great grandsons Finn and Calder Squires of Denver, Colorado. Knox is also fondly remembered by those who married into his family: David Silberman, Jane Murphy, Tony Bertke, Yasuko Ogino, and Dave Hernden. A private memorial service for the family was held at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Centennial, Colorado. Those wishing to make memorial donations may contribute to the St. Francis Center, 2323 Curtis Street in Denver, Colorado 80205-2627. 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