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The passing of a long time friend and member, Kneale Brownson

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Tricia

Tricia

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I only knew Kneale through Pug Ski and Ski Talk but as we were contemporaries as to age I valued his opinions and insights into our shared sport. I regret I never got to meet Kneale, let alone ski with him. Condolences to his family for their great loss. I believe the obit got his age wrong by about 20 years, he was at least 82 years old when he left this life.
The Obituary that Jim found is from Marion Michigan. Kneale lived near Traverse City after he moved back from Utah, a couple hours north of Marion. I used to live smack dab in the middle of the two and had a chance to ski with Kneale in Michigan as well as Colorado.
And yes, he was 82 years old.

You know what, I'm going out for todays skiing in just a few minutes and my first run is gonna be for Kneale. Anyone want to join me?
Phil and I have been on snow nearly every day for a few weeks, so are taking the day off to catch up on stuff here at SkiTalk. But I plan on skiing some turns for Kneale tomorrow morning.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Kneale's family is aware of this thread and his niece will be sharing your kind thoughts during the holidays.
Thank you for being an amazing community.
 

Roundturns

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Very sorry to learn this. I read all his posts. There’s no doubt an emotional connection that is created through this website. We are all very fortunate to be able to ski and share the experience with others.
 

Seldomski

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Like many others, I never met him in person, but enjoyed reading his contributions here and on Epic.

Condolences to the family.
 

Philpug

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We skied with Kneale in Breck quite a few times. IIRC, he set up some clinics for some readers and was a guide for us. I remember his blue K2 Recons with Look Pivots.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Yesterday we skied at Mt Rose and I did take the time to breathe in and breathe out, embrace the mountain and be thankful for the people in our circle, making turns for Kneale.
Photo credit: Andy Mink
imagejpeg_0.jpg
 
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Jelder

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I just saw this. Kneale and I hooked up at Boyne Mountain in January or February of '21. I had posted on these forums asking about a good instructor in Michigan, and ended up getting connected with him. We had a really fun day "talking" on the Meadows lift, and skiing, because it was not an officially sanctioned lesson. He gave me a bunch of things to work on, which have helped a ton in the time since.

Last year I reached out to him again, but by that time he was facing some new health issues and said Boyne had agreed to roll his season pass over to the 22/23 season. I was just getting ready to send him a note about meeting up again soon.

He was a gentleman.
 

SugarCube

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I just saw this--how sad. I skied several times with him (and his wife, Monique (?) at Breck. One time, he escorted me and a few others up Imperial--I'd never been before. He offered me a "safe" way down and I said no, I wanted to ski it, well, not un-safely, but not the easier way down. I'm not sure I'd have had the courage to try it but he was encouraging and patient. The same day, I think, I rode the T-bar with his friend Richard who was quite a bit bigger and heavier than me--what a ride! :geek:

I've nothing but happy and smiley memories of Kneale. And yes, he was a gentleman. RIP.
 

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