Lloyd Brubaker
Lloyd Brubaker passed away Feb. 10, 2016, in the Ridgecrest house he and his wife Peg built. Lloyd was 89.
Born in Gillespie, Ill., in 1926 to Wynter and Mildred (Hoehn) Brubaker, Lloyd remained an only child from parents who had several siblings. In 1929, leaving the farming life for greater opportunities, Wynter, Mildred, and Lloyd moved to Richmond, Calif. Lloyd grew up on a small family farm on a hill overlooking San Francisco Bay. Wynter was a fine accountant at Ford Motor Co,, but he and Mildred were also farmers who taught Lloyd how to grow or raise food to be self-sufficient. Often Lloyd shared the dinner table with neighbors who were struggling to feed themselves during the Great Depression.
Lloyd grew up on the back of a horse, and one of his first paying jobs was delivering papers from his horse Tinkerbelle. His horseback riding led to jobs such as riding fence searching for and repairing holes from Marin County out toward Sacramento … when he was 12. This led to working on cattle ranches on what was then a grassy oak woodland called the Marin Headlands.
When the United States entered World War II, Lloyd went to work shuttling everything from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to M4 Sherman tanks to the shipyards of Oakland for transport to the Pacific and European war theaters.
Graduating from high school in three and half years, Lloyd joined the Army in November 1944. Upon completing basic training, he was sent to Europe to become part of the mop-up. He realized Germany was soon to collapse as his unit disabled a Tiger tank, and when the crew surrendered, they were all women. Upon Germany’s surrender, Lloyd became part of the occupational forces before shipping back to the U.S. and being honorably discharged in 1945.
Lloyd went back to working on cattle ranches, also becoming a zookeeper at the Fleishhacker Zoo, now the San Francisco Zoo. Lloyd talked fondly of the days when he would lead a male African lion out to allow visitors to scratch him under the chin … the lion, not Lloyd. Always having an interest in science and the natural world, Lloyd began college at the University of California, Berkeley, but opted for the cheaper route at San Jose State University which had a Reserve Officers Training Corps program.
While studying for a degree in zoology, Lloyd helped put on outdoor events for a Korean Christian Church, and during a camping excursion, he met Margaret “Peg” Rapp. The two found they had a common bond with the out-of-doors. They married in 1950 and had to cut the wedding reception short as Lloyd had a class to attend in the afternoon. However, they honeymooned in Yosemite where in 1954 Lloyd worked as an interpretive naturalist every summer for more than 20 years.
Upon graduating from San Jose State, Lloyd was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army and sent to Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War. As a platoon leader, Lloyd led ambush patrols where on the night of July 6,1953, he and his patrol was called to assist friendly forces fighting an attacking Chinese force that had infiltrated the trenches on the hill. Lloyd’s patrol found themselves on the Chinese side of the attack and fought their way through to the U.S. forces. Fighting was nearly hand to hand and while Lloyd’s patrol took up positions, he was observed firing his carbine from atop a bunker and throwing grenades toward the enemy. Some grenade explosions occurred near Lloyd, who continued firing.
By the morning of July 7, the Chinese had been repulsed and Lloyd collapsed because of blood loss from grenade fragments in his right knee, an injury that earned him the Purple Heart. Testimony from higher ranking officers and enlisted soldiers lent to Lloyd receiving the Bronze Star for Valor.
Lloyd joined the Army Reserves and completed credentialing to become a teacher. Two job offers as a science teacher came, one in Susanville, in northeast California, and one at a naval installation known as China Lake. Lloyd and Peg moved to China Lake in 1955.
While teaching science classes at Murry Junior High School, Lloyd completed his master’s in science through San Jose State. He then studied and acquired his amateur radio operators’ license, going on to develop and teach a junior high class in amateur radio. This was one of many unique classes Lloyd taught including rocket science, chemistry, first aid, and earth science.
Lloyd’s earth science class culminated in a trip to Morro Bay, which became a tradition and often his students’ introduction to the ocean and coastal environments. Lloyd’s proudest moments as a teacher came when he received copies of diplomas from past students who received PhDs, MDs, or engineering degrees.
Through Lloyd’s teaching of desert natural history, a University of California extension class, hundreds of people were introduced to the natural wonders and history of the Mojave Desert. Trips to Owens, Searles, Panamint and Death valleys were settings for outdoor classrooms. Lloyd’s fondness for the desert led to his becoming a founding member of the Maturango Museum, working on Indian Wells Valley Christmas Bird Counts, and turning Red Rock Canyon from an off-highway vehicle recreation area into a state park.
Lloyd often quipped that when he began teaching grandchildren of past students, he would retire. He did so in 1986 along with retiring from an extensive career in the Army Reserves at the rank of full colonel. He was one command of a battalion short of a star.
Lloyd continued being a ranger naturalist for the National Park Service at Devils Post Pile National Monument and occasionally at Death Valley.
He taught biology at Cerro Coso Community College and first aidclasses when not roaming around the western U.S. with Peg, who passed away suddenly in 1994.
Lloyd continued traveling around the world visiting China, New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, England, Germany, Poland, Costa Rica and Antarctica, all the while continuing to teach and remain active in amateur radio, the Audubon Societyand short-line railroads.
Lloyd is survived by his daughter Sherry of Ridgecrest and son Don, and his wife Kathleen, of McKinleyville, Calif. Any contributions in Lloyd’s memory should be made to the Maturango Museum.
— Submitted by the family of Lloyd Brubaker
Lloyd Brubaker passed away Feb. 10, 2016, in the Ridgecrest house he and his wife Peg built. Lloyd was 89.
Born in Gillespie, Ill., in 1926 to Wynter and Mildred (Hoehn) Brubaker, Lloyd remained an only child from parents who had several siblings. In 1929, leaving the farming life for greater opportunities, Wynter, Mildred, and Lloyd moved to Richmond, Calif. Lloyd grew up on a small family farm on a hill overlooking San Francisco Bay. Wynter was a fine accountant at Ford Motor Co,, but he and Mildred were also farmers who taught Lloyd how to grow or raise food to be self-sufficient. Often Lloyd shared the dinner table with neighbors who were struggling to feed themselves during the Great Depression.
Lloyd grew up on the back of a horse, and one of his first paying jobs was delivering papers from his horse Tinkerbelle. His horseback riding led to jobs such as riding fence searching for and repairing holes from Marin County out toward Sacramento … when he was 12. This led to working on cattle ranches on what was then a grassy oak woodland called the Marin Headlands.
When the United States entered World War II, Lloyd went to work shuttling everything from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to M4 Sherman tanks to the shipyards of Oakland for transport to the Pacific and European war theaters.
Graduating from high school in three and half years, Lloyd joined the Army in November 1944. Upon completing basic training, he was sent to Europe to become part of the mop-up. He realized Germany was soon to collapse as his unit disabled a Tiger tank, and when the crew surrendered, they were all women. Upon Germany’s surrender, Lloyd became part of the occupational forces before shipping back to the U.S. and being honorably discharged in 1945.
Lloyd went back to working on cattle ranches, also becoming a zookeeper at the Fleishhacker Zoo, now the San Francisco Zoo. Lloyd talked fondly of the days when he would lead a male African lion out to allow visitors to scratch him under the chin … the lion, not Lloyd. Always having an interest in science and the natural world, Lloyd began college at the University of California, Berkeley, but opted for the cheaper route at San Jose State University which had a Reserve Officers Training Corps program.
While studying for a degree in zoology, Lloyd helped put on outdoor events for a Korean Christian Church, and during a camping excursion, he met Margaret “Peg” Rapp. The two found they had a common bond with the out-of-doors. They married in 1950 and had to cut the wedding reception short as Lloyd had a class to attend in the afternoon. However, they honeymooned in Yosemite where in 1954 Lloyd worked as an interpretive naturalist every summer for more than 20 years.
Upon graduating from San Jose State, Lloyd was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army and sent to Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War. As a platoon leader, Lloyd led ambush patrols where on the night of July 6,1953, he and his patrol was called to assist friendly forces fighting an attacking Chinese force that had infiltrated the trenches on the hill. Lloyd’s patrol found themselves on the Chinese side of the attack and fought their way through to the U.S. forces. Fighting was nearly hand to hand and while Lloyd’s patrol took up positions, he was observed firing his carbine from atop a bunker and throwing grenades toward the enemy. Some grenade explosions occurred near Lloyd, who continued firing.
By the morning of July 7, the Chinese had been repulsed and Lloyd collapsed because of blood loss from grenade fragments in his right knee, an injury that earned him the Purple Heart. Testimony from higher ranking officers and enlisted soldiers lent to Lloyd receiving the Bronze Star for Valor.
Lloyd joined the Army Reserves and completed credentialing to become a teacher. Two job offers as a science teacher came, one in Susanville, in northeast California, and one at a naval installation known as China Lake. Lloyd and Peg moved to China Lake in 1955.
While teaching science classes at Murry Junior High School, Lloyd completed his master’s in science through San Jose State. He then studied and acquired his amateur radio operators’ license, going on to develop and teach a junior high class in amateur radio. This was one of many unique classes Lloyd taught including rocket science, chemistry, first aid, and earth science.
Lloyd’s earth science class culminated in a trip to Morro Bay, which became a tradition and often his students’ introduction to the ocean and coastal environments. Lloyd’s proudest moments as a teacher came when he received copies of diplomas from past students who received PhDs, MDs, or engineering degrees.
Through Lloyd’s teaching of desert natural history, a University of California extension class, hundreds of people were introduced to the natural wonders and history of the Mojave Desert. Trips to Owens, Searles, Panamint and Death valleys were settings for outdoor classrooms. Lloyd’s fondness for the desert led to his becoming a founding member of the Maturango Museum, working on Indian Wells Valley Christmas Bird Counts, and turning Red Rock Canyon from an off-highway vehicle recreation area into a state park.
Lloyd often quipped that when he began teaching grandchildren of past students, he would retire. He did so in 1986 along with retiring from an extensive career in the Army Reserves at the rank of full colonel. He was one command of a battalion short of a star.
Lloyd continued being a ranger naturalist for the National Park Service at Devils Post Pile National Monument and occasionally at Death Valley.
He taught biology at Cerro Coso Community College and first aidclasses when not roaming around the western U.S. with Peg, who passed away suddenly in 1994.
Lloyd continued traveling around the world visiting China, New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, England, Germany, Poland, Costa Rica and Antarctica, all the while continuing to teach and remain active in amateur radio, the Audubon Societyand short-line railroads.
Lloyd is survived by his daughter Sherry of Ridgecrest and son Don, and his wife Kathleen, of McKinleyville, Calif. Any contributions in Lloyd’s memory should be made to the Maturango Museum.
— Submitted by the family of Lloyd Brubaker
Lloyd Brubaker
Lloyd Brubaker passed away Feb. 10, 2016, in the Ridgecrest house he and his wife Peg built. Lloyd was 89.
Born in Gillespie, Ill., in 1926 to Wynter and Mildred (Hoehn) Brubaker, Lloyd remained an only child from parents who had several siblings. In 1929, leaving the farming life for greater opportunities, Wynter, Mildred, and Lloyd moved to Richmond, Calif. Lloyd grew up on a small family farm on a hill overlooking San Francisco Bay. Wynter was a fine accountant at Ford Motor Co,, but he and Mildred were also farmers who taught Lloyd how to grow or raise food to be self-sufficient. Often Lloyd shared the dinner table with neighbors who were struggling to feed themselves during the Great Depression.
Lloyd grew up on the back of a horse, and one of his first paying jobs was delivering papers from his horse Tinkerbelle. His horseback riding led to jobs such as riding fence searching for and repairing holes from Marin County out toward Sacramento … when he was 12. This led to working on cattle ranches on what was then a grassy oak woodland called the Marin Headlands.
When the United States entered World War II, Lloyd went to work shuttling everything from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to M4 Sherman tanks to the shipyards of Oakland for transport to the Pacific and European war theaters.
Graduating from high school in three and half years, Lloyd joined the Army in November 1944. Upon completing basic training, he was sent to Europe to become part of the mop-up. He realized Germany was soon to collapse as his unit disabled a Tiger tank, and when the crew surrendered, they were all women. Upon Germany’s surrender, Lloyd became part of the occupational forces before shipping back to the U.S. and being honorably discharged in 1945.
Lloyd went back to working on cattle ranches, also becoming a zookeeper at the Fleishhacker Zoo, now the San Francisco Zoo. Lloyd talked fondly of the days when he would lead a male African lion out to allow visitors to scratch him under the chin … the lion, not Lloyd. Always having an interest in science and the natural world, Lloyd began college at the University of California, Berkeley, but opted for the cheaper route at San Jose State University which had a Reserve Officers Training Corps program.
While studying for a degree in zoology, Lloyd helped put on outdoor events for a Korean Christian Church, and during a camping excursion, he met Margaret “Peg” Rapp. The two found they had a common bond with the out-of-doors. They married in 1950 and had to cut the wedding reception short as Lloyd had a class to attend in the afternoon. However, they honeymooned in Yosemite where in 1954 Lloyd worked as an interpretive naturalist every summer for more than 20 years.
Upon graduating from San Jose State, Lloyd was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army and sent to Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War. As a platoon leader, Lloyd led ambush patrols where on the night of July 6,1953, he and his patrol was called to assist friendly forces fighting an attacking Chinese force that had infiltrated the trenches on the hill. Lloyd’s patrol found themselves on the Chinese side of the attack and fought their way through to the U.S. forces. Fighting was nearly hand to hand and while Lloyd’s patrol took up positions, he was observed firing his carbine from atop a bunker and throwing grenades toward the enemy. Some grenade explosions occurred near Lloyd, who continued firing.
By the morning of July 7, the Chinese had been repulsed and Lloyd collapsed because of blood loss from grenade fragments in his right knee, an injury that earned him the Purple Heart. Testimony from higher ranking officers and enlisted soldiers lent to Lloyd receiving the Bronze Star for Valor.
Lloyd joined the Army Reserves and completed credentialing to become a teacher. Two job offers as a science teacher came, one in Susanville, in northeast California, and one at a naval installation known as China Lake. Lloyd and Peg moved to China Lake in 1955.
While teaching science classes at Murry Junior High School, Lloyd completed his master’s in science through San Jose State. He then studied and acquired his amateur radio operators’ license, going on to develop and teach a junior high class in amateur radio. This was one of many unique classes Lloyd taught including rocket science, chemistry, first aid, and earth science.
Lloyd’s earth science class culminated in a trip to Morro Bay, which became a tradition and often his students’ introduction to the ocean and coastal environments. Lloyd’s proudest moments as a teacher came when he received copies of diplomas from past students who received PhDs, MDs, or engineering degrees.
Through Lloyd’s teaching of desert natural history, a University of California extension class, hundreds of people were introduced to the natural wonders and history of the Mojave Desert. Trips to Owens, Searles, Panamint and Death valleys were settings for outdoor classrooms. Lloyd’s fondness for the desert led to his becoming a founding member of the Maturango Museum, working on Indian Wells Valley Christmas Bird Counts, and turning Red Rock Canyon from an off-highway vehicle recreation area into a state park.
Lloyd often quipped that when he began teaching grandchildren of past students, he would retire. He did so in 1986 along with retiring from an extensive career in the Army Reserves at the rank of full colonel. He was one command of a battalion short of a star.
Lloyd continued being a ranger naturalist for the National Park Service at Devils Post Pile National Monument and occasionally at Death Valley.
He taught biology at Cerro Coso Community College and first aidclasses when not roaming around the western U.S. with Peg, who passed away suddenly in 1994.
Lloyd continued traveling around the world visiting China, New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, England, Germany, Poland, Costa Rica and Antarctica, all the while continuing to teach and remain active in amateur radio, the Audubon Societyand short-line railroads.
Lloyd is survived by his daughter Sherry of Ridgecrest and son Don, and his wife Kathleen, of McKinleyville, Calif. Any contributions in Lloyd’s memory should be made to the Maturango Museum.
— Submitted by the family of Lloyd Brubaker
Lloyd Brubaker passed away Feb. 10, 2016, in the Ridgecrest house he and his wife Peg built. Lloyd was 89.
Born in Gillespie, Ill., in 1926 to Wynter and Mildred (Hoehn) Brubaker, Lloyd remained an only child from parents who had several siblings. In 1929, leaving the farming life for greater opportunities, Wynter, Mildred, and Lloyd moved to Richmond, Calif. Lloyd grew up on a small family farm on a hill overlooking San Francisco Bay. Wynter was a fine accountant at Ford Motor Co,, but he and Mildred were also farmers who taught Lloyd how to grow or raise food to be self-sufficient. Often Lloyd shared the dinner table with neighbors who were struggling to feed themselves during the Great Depression.
Lloyd grew up on the back of a horse, and one of his first paying jobs was delivering papers from his horse Tinkerbelle. His horseback riding led to jobs such as riding fence searching for and repairing holes from Marin County out toward Sacramento … when he was 12. This led to working on cattle ranches on what was then a grassy oak woodland called the Marin Headlands.
When the United States entered World War II, Lloyd went to work shuttling everything from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to M4 Sherman tanks to the shipyards of Oakland for transport to the Pacific and European war theaters.
Graduating from high school in three and half years, Lloyd joined the Army in November 1944. Upon completing basic training, he was sent to Europe to become part of the mop-up. He realized Germany was soon to collapse as his unit disabled a Tiger tank, and when the crew surrendered, they were all women. Upon Germany’s surrender, Lloyd became part of the occupational forces before shipping back to the U.S. and being honorably discharged in 1945.
Lloyd went back to working on cattle ranches, also becoming a zookeeper at the Fleishhacker Zoo, now the San Francisco Zoo. Lloyd talked fondly of the days when he would lead a male African lion out to allow visitors to scratch him under the chin … the lion, not Lloyd. Always having an interest in science and the natural world, Lloyd began college at the University of California, Berkeley, but opted for the cheaper route at San Jose State University which had a Reserve Officers Training Corps program.
While studying for a degree in zoology, Lloyd helped put on outdoor events for a Korean Christian Church, and during a camping excursion, he met Margaret “Peg” Rapp. The two found they had a common bond with the out-of-doors. They married in 1950 and had to cut the wedding reception short as Lloyd had a class to attend in the afternoon. However, they honeymooned in Yosemite where in 1954 Lloyd worked as an interpretive naturalist every summer for more than 20 years.
Upon graduating from San Jose State, Lloyd was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army and sent to Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War. As a platoon leader, Lloyd led ambush patrols where on the night of July 6,1953, he and his patrol was called to assist friendly forces fighting an attacking Chinese force that had infiltrated the trenches on the hill. Lloyd’s patrol found themselves on the Chinese side of the attack and fought their way through to the U.S. forces. Fighting was nearly hand to hand and while Lloyd’s patrol took up positions, he was observed firing his carbine from atop a bunker and throwing grenades toward the enemy. Some grenade explosions occurred near Lloyd, who continued firing.
By the morning of July 7, the Chinese had been repulsed and Lloyd collapsed because of blood loss from grenade fragments in his right knee, an injury that earned him the Purple Heart. Testimony from higher ranking officers and enlisted soldiers lent to Lloyd receiving the Bronze Star for Valor.
Lloyd joined the Army Reserves and completed credentialing to become a teacher. Two job offers as a science teacher came, one in Susanville, in northeast California, and one at a naval installation known as China Lake. Lloyd and Peg moved to China Lake in 1955.
While teaching science classes at Murry Junior High School, Lloyd completed his master’s in science through San Jose State. He then studied and acquired his amateur radio operators’ license, going on to develop and teach a junior high class in amateur radio. This was one of many unique classes Lloyd taught including rocket science, chemistry, first aid, and earth science.
Lloyd’s earth science class culminated in a trip to Morro Bay, which became a tradition and often his students’ introduction to the ocean and coastal environments. Lloyd’s proudest moments as a teacher came when he received copies of diplomas from past students who received PhDs, MDs, or engineering degrees.
Through Lloyd’s teaching of desert natural history, a University of California extension class, hundreds of people were introduced to the natural wonders and history of the Mojave Desert. Trips to Owens, Searles, Panamint and Death valleys were settings for outdoor classrooms. Lloyd’s fondness for the desert led to his becoming a founding member of the Maturango Museum, working on Indian Wells Valley Christmas Bird Counts, and turning Red Rock Canyon from an off-highway vehicle recreation area into a state park.
Lloyd often quipped that when he began teaching grandchildren of past students, he would retire. He did so in 1986 along with retiring from an extensive career in the Army Reserves at the rank of full colonel. He was one command of a battalion short of a star.
Lloyd continued being a ranger naturalist for the National Park Service at Devils Post Pile National Monument and occasionally at Death Valley.
He taught biology at Cerro Coso Community College and first aidclasses when not roaming around the western U.S. with Peg, who passed away suddenly in 1994.
Lloyd continued traveling around the world visiting China, New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, England, Germany, Poland, Costa Rica and Antarctica, all the while continuing to teach and remain active in amateur radio, the Audubon Societyand short-line railroads.
Lloyd is survived by his daughter Sherry of Ridgecrest and son Don, and his wife Kathleen, of McKinleyville, Calif. Any contributions in Lloyd’s memory should be made to the Maturango Museum.
— Submitted by the family of Lloyd Brubaker
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