Carlynn "Sis" Brownlee

Carlynn Brown Brownlee, 75 of Clinton, left us on July 15, 2017. To the outside world she was known as Carlynn. To those of us fortunate to be in the inner sanctum of her life, she was known as Sis, Mom, Gramma, and Aunt Sis.
Sis was born in Saco, MT, October 5, 1941, to B. Carlton “Brownie” Brown and Lillian Myhre Brown. The family lived in Saco, Charlos Heights, Victor, and finally settled in Hamilton.
That is where she met and fell in love with Glen Brownlee. They were married on September 16, 1958. After over 51 years together, Sis and Glen were proud to say they were parents of 6 great kids, 16 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. Sis was “Mom” to not only her own kids, but all of their friends as well. She was “Sis” to her siblings and all of their friends and “Aunt Sis” to her nieces and nephews and all of their friends! She turned no one away.
In 1969, Sis and Glen bought a piece of a mountain up Donovan Creek. It had a small house and small yard, which they made improvements on every chance they had. The house grew, the yard grew, and her infamous garden grew. Once told she couldn’t grow much of a garden in a canyon, she proved the naysayers wrong. Sis grew her vegetables and her rows of raspberries. Granted she had to fight the yellow jackets for the berries, but she usually won the battles!
The yard had to grow to keep up with the increasing family so, much to the chagrin of the kids, then the grandkids, they learned to never say they were bored. Out the door they were marched, “pick up the sticks and the rocks,” they were told. And they did. In the end, the yard went up the mountainside several more yards!
That yard also held its share of 4th of July parties. Since that was Glen’s birthday as well, what better reason? Sis always had the best backyard parties, but when party time was over, we had to clean up that yard, no ifs, ands or buts.
Besides making a mountain into a home, Sis worked in several Missoula businesses, and was waitress and bartender extraordinaire! She waitressed at The Park Café, The Main Spot, and Turah Pines, and finished her working days at Daily’s Premium Meats. Always working, always smiling.
In 1994, Sis was diagnosed with emphysema. Given 6 years to live at that time, she opted out of dying by someone else’s timeframe and defied the odds for a total of 23 years. Her way of coping with it? Every day she prayed, “thank you for today Lord, and please give me one more day.” He did and we all thank Him for each of those days.
Where Sis’s mom, Lillian, was the core of our family, Sis became the glue that held us all together. Whether she realized it or not, it was her love, patience, acceptance and sometimes persistence that kept all of us happily spinning in her orbit. Her death has us a bit like leaves in the wind, flipping, fluttering and wondering, where do we go from here? And who is going to make us her famous butterhorns and Tom & Jerrys for Christmas?
Sis was preceded in death by her parents, Brownie and Lillian Brown, husband Glen Brownlee, sister Nancy Blodgett, and niece Jordan Brown.
She is survived by her children: Glen (Rhonda) Brownlee Jr., Tina (Ray) Hawley, Sheila (Dan) Wickman, Kathy (Kevin) Wright, Sherry (J.R.) LeMont, and Mialee (Les) Miller, and her siblings: Patricia Ramsey, Bernie Brown, Stella Brown, and Jerry Brown, all of Oregon and Ethyl Keel of Hamilton.
Please join us for a memorial service and reception, to be held at the Garden City Funeral Home in Missoula, on Friday, September 15, 2017, at 1:00 PM.
Condolences can be sent to Tina Hawley, 6320 Pine Cone Drive, Clinton, MT 59825.
Sis’ last months were made easier with the help of the loving and caring people from Hospice. Remembrances can be made in her honor to Hospice, so they can continue to help others as they helped her.