From personal knowledge provided by Leslie's daughter:
Milton Leslie Brown was born in the town of Duchesne, Utah, not far from the ranch on which his parents lived. Before he was five his family moved to southern California, living in Pasadena (1920) and then in Carlsbad, San Diego county. In 1930, feeling pinched by the Depression, his father and older brother moved to northern California to find work and left Leslie with a woman in Carlsbad. He subsisted in part by eating the avocados that grew on the trees there. He was befriended by Jeanette and Edward Morgan, who ran a popular hotel and restaurant called the Twin Inns. They were like an aunt and uncle to Leslie. They later opened the House of Morgan in Carlsbad and were Best Man and Best Matron at Leslie's wedding in 1938.
Leslie's high school annual shows that he was popular and played football at Union High School in the Carlsbad/Oceanside school district. He worked at a saw mill in his teens and cut off his right index finger at the joint.
Les married Arleen Heck on March 8, 1938, in Orange county, CA, and they settled in the Los Angeles basin. There they had two children, Barbara Dell Brown (Dec 20, 1938 - Jan 9, 2000) and Joyce Leslie Brown. In the summer of 1945 they moved to the San Fernando valley. They bought a motel on Sepulveda Blvd in Van Nuys. My mother fixed it up for resale at a profit. She did the same with some houses.
Les and Arleen shared a strong work ethic, a love for social life, and a passion for dancing. However, they did not share the same family background. Arleen had a loving and close relationship with her parents, whereas Les had largely raised himself. According to his daughter, this proved to be too much of a difference for them, and they were divorced on July 27, 1949.
After his divorce, Les moved back to San Diego county. He loved the ocean and the outdoors, and he happily worked at the Torrey Pines State Reserve, not far from Carlsbad. He was a strong swimmer, loved tennis, and was popular at the Elks Lodge with the ladies because of his dancing abilities. He owned five tuxedos. He was a perfectionist and was happiest living alone. Nevertheless, on May 12, 1960, he briefly married Dorothy Dewees in San Diego, and on October 4, 1969, he married Eleanor Leonhard in San Diego. According to his daughter, Les could be moody and show a temper, but he was also high-minded, honorable, and hard-working. He was a reliable friend to many and kept his sense of humor about life to the very end of his own.
In 1982 Les injured his back while fixing the drain in his swimming pool. This forced him to retire from the park service. Around 1885 he moved to the high desert in Hesperia, San Bernardino county, to be near his daughter and other family members. He gave his home in the hills of Carlsbad to his third wife, Eleanor (Leonhard) Brown, to whom he remained married. He passed away in the dry climate of the upper desert in February, 2002. There was a memorial service for him at Kern Memorial Chapel in Victorville. His remains were cremated, and in accord with his wishes, his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Coast.
Milton Leslie Brown was born in the town of Duchesne, Utah, not far from the ranch on which his parents lived. Before he was five his family moved to southern California, living in Pasadena (1920) and then in Carlsbad, San Diego county. In 1930, feeling pinched by the Depression, his father and older brother moved to northern California to find work and left Leslie with a woman in Carlsbad. He subsisted in part by eating the avocados that grew on the trees there. He was befriended by Jeanette and Edward Morgan, who ran a popular hotel and restaurant called the Twin Inns. They were like an aunt and uncle to Leslie. They later opened the House of Morgan in Carlsbad and were Best Man and Best Matron at Leslie's wedding in 1938.
Leslie's high school annual shows that he was popular and played football at Union High School in the Carlsbad/Oceanside school district. He worked at a saw mill in his teens and cut off his right index finger at the joint.
Les married Arleen Heck on March 8, 1938, in Orange county, CA, and they settled in the Los Angeles basin. There they had two children, Barbara Dell Brown (Dec 20, 1938 - Jan 9, 2000) and Joyce Leslie Brown. In the summer of 1945 they moved to the San Fernando valley. They bought a motel on Sepulveda Blvd in Van Nuys. My mother fixed it up for resale at a profit. She did the same with some houses.
Les and Arleen shared a strong work ethic, a love for social life, and a passion for dancing. However, they did not share the same family background. Arleen had a loving and close relationship with her parents, whereas Les had largely raised himself. According to his daughter, this proved to be too much of a difference for them, and they were divorced on July 27, 1949.
After his divorce, Les moved back to San Diego county. He loved the ocean and the outdoors, and he happily worked at the Torrey Pines State Reserve, not far from Carlsbad. He was a strong swimmer, loved tennis, and was popular at the Elks Lodge with the ladies because of his dancing abilities. He owned five tuxedos. He was a perfectionist and was happiest living alone. Nevertheless, on May 12, 1960, he briefly married Dorothy Dewees in San Diego, and on October 4, 1969, he married Eleanor Leonhard in San Diego. According to his daughter, Les could be moody and show a temper, but he was also high-minded, honorable, and hard-working. He was a reliable friend to many and kept his sense of humor about life to the very end of his own.
In 1982 Les injured his back while fixing the drain in his swimming pool. This forced him to retire from the park service. Around 1885 he moved to the high desert in Hesperia, San Bernardino county, to be near his daughter and other family members. He gave his home in the hills of Carlsbad to his third wife, Eleanor (Leonhard) Brown, to whom he remained married. He passed away in the dry climate of the upper desert in February, 2002. There was a memorial service for him at Kern Memorial Chapel in Victorville. His remains were cremated, and in accord with his wishes, his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Coast.
From personal knowledge provided by Leslie's daughter:
Milton Leslie Brown was born in the town of Duchesne, Utah, not far from the ranch on which his parents lived. Before he was five his family moved to southern California, living in Pasadena (1920) and then in Carlsbad, San Diego county. In 1930, feeling pinched by the Depression, his father and older brother moved to northern California to find work and left Leslie with a woman in Carlsbad. He subsisted in part by eating the avocados that grew on the trees there. He was befriended by Jeanette and Edward Morgan, who ran a popular hotel and restaurant called the Twin Inns. They were like an aunt and uncle to Leslie. They later opened the House of Morgan in Carlsbad and were Best Man and Best Matron at Leslie's wedding in 1938.
Leslie's high school annual shows that he was popular and played football at Union High School in the Carlsbad/Oceanside school district. He worked at a saw mill in his teens and cut off his right index finger at the joint.
Les married Arleen Heck on March 8, 1938, in Orange county, CA, and they settled in the Los Angeles basin. There they had two children, Barbara Dell Brown (Dec 20, 1938 - Jan 9, 2000) and Joyce Leslie Brown. In the summer of 1945 they moved to the San Fernando valley. They bought a motel on Sepulveda Blvd in Van Nuys. My mother fixed it up for resale at a profit. She did the same with some houses.
Les and Arleen shared a strong work ethic, a love for social life, and a passion for dancing. However, they did not share the same family background. Arleen had a loving and close relationship with her parents, whereas Les had largely raised himself. According to his daughter, this proved to be too much of a difference for them, and they were divorced on July 27, 1949.
After his divorce, Les moved back to San Diego county. He loved the ocean and the outdoors, and he happily worked at the Torrey Pines State Reserve, not far from Carlsbad. He was a strong swimmer, loved tennis, and was popular at the Elks Lodge with the ladies because of his dancing abilities. He owned five tuxedos. He was a perfectionist and was happiest living alone. Nevertheless, on May 12, 1960, he briefly married Dorothy Dewees in San Diego, and on October 4, 1969, he married Eleanor Leonhard in San Diego. According to his daughter, Les could be moody and show a temper, but he was also high-minded, honorable, and hard-working. He was a reliable friend to many and kept his sense of humor about life to the very end of his own.
In 1982 Les injured his back while fixing the drain in his swimming pool. This forced him to retire from the park service. Around 1885 he moved to the high desert in Hesperia, San Bernardino county, to be near his daughter and other family members. He gave his home in the hills of Carlsbad to his third wife, Eleanor (Leonhard) Brown, to whom he remained married. He passed away in the dry climate of the upper desert in February, 2002. There was a memorial service for him at Kern Memorial Chapel in Victorville. His remains were cremated, and in accord with his wishes, his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Coast.
Milton Leslie Brown was born in the town of Duchesne, Utah, not far from the ranch on which his parents lived. Before he was five his family moved to southern California, living in Pasadena (1920) and then in Carlsbad, San Diego county. In 1930, feeling pinched by the Depression, his father and older brother moved to northern California to find work and left Leslie with a woman in Carlsbad. He subsisted in part by eating the avocados that grew on the trees there. He was befriended by Jeanette and Edward Morgan, who ran a popular hotel and restaurant called the Twin Inns. They were like an aunt and uncle to Leslie. They later opened the House of Morgan in Carlsbad and were Best Man and Best Matron at Leslie's wedding in 1938.
Leslie's high school annual shows that he was popular and played football at Union High School in the Carlsbad/Oceanside school district. He worked at a saw mill in his teens and cut off his right index finger at the joint.
Les married Arleen Heck on March 8, 1938, in Orange county, CA, and they settled in the Los Angeles basin. There they had two children, Barbara Dell Brown (Dec 20, 1938 - Jan 9, 2000) and Joyce Leslie Brown. In the summer of 1945 they moved to the San Fernando valley. They bought a motel on Sepulveda Blvd in Van Nuys. My mother fixed it up for resale at a profit. She did the same with some houses.
Les and Arleen shared a strong work ethic, a love for social life, and a passion for dancing. However, they did not share the same family background. Arleen had a loving and close relationship with her parents, whereas Les had largely raised himself. According to his daughter, this proved to be too much of a difference for them, and they were divorced on July 27, 1949.
After his divorce, Les moved back to San Diego county. He loved the ocean and the outdoors, and he happily worked at the Torrey Pines State Reserve, not far from Carlsbad. He was a strong swimmer, loved tennis, and was popular at the Elks Lodge with the ladies because of his dancing abilities. He owned five tuxedos. He was a perfectionist and was happiest living alone. Nevertheless, on May 12, 1960, he briefly married Dorothy Dewees in San Diego, and on October 4, 1969, he married Eleanor Leonhard in San Diego. According to his daughter, Les could be moody and show a temper, but he was also high-minded, honorable, and hard-working. He was a reliable friend to many and kept his sense of humor about life to the very end of his own.
In 1982 Les injured his back while fixing the drain in his swimming pool. This forced him to retire from the park service. Around 1885 he moved to the high desert in Hesperia, San Bernardino county, to be near his daughter and other family members. He gave his home in the hills of Carlsbad to his third wife, Eleanor (Leonhard) Brown, to whom he remained married. He passed away in the dry climate of the upper desert in February, 2002. There was a memorial service for him at Kern Memorial Chapel in Victorville. His remains were cremated, and in accord with his wishes, his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Coast.
