Douglas Brew Obituary

Douglas Crocker Brew died on August 19, 2025, in the Hospice of Mercy facility in Durango, Colorado after a brief illness and quick decline in health.

Doug was born to the late Clifford Brew and Grace (Crocker) Brew on May 7, 1935 in Clifton Springs, NY. He joined two older brothers, Clif and Dave, and spent a carefree childhood growing up in Ithaca, NY. The Brew boys skied, played golf, and set up decathlon competitions in the yard. Doug began his running career at Ithaca High School and earned his diploma in 1953. He attended Dartmouth College and received a geology degree in 1957. At Dartmouth, he made lifelong friendships, ran cross country and track, and earned the nickname "the Green Ace". In 1956, he finished 3rd in the 800m in the NCAA championships, was named All-American in the 800m, and ran in the Olympic Trials.

Doug spent the summers of 1955 and 1956 as a member of the US Marine Corps Platoon Leader Class. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps in 1957 and was later promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Over the next three years, he completed training and spent 6 months with the US Navy Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean in '58-'59 during the first Lebanon crisis. Doug told stories of being a 23 year-old officer given command of a 450 foot-long ship during stormy weather in the Mediterranean and wondering what on earth his commanding officers were thinking. After being released from active duty in 1960, he served in the USMC Reserve through the summer of 1964 when he was honorably discharged.

In August of 1960 he married Alice Thompson in Ithaca, NY and began working on his Doctorate in Paleontology at Cornell University. He started his field work on the Colorado Plateau, falling in love with the open spaces and geology of the west. Their first child, Gregory, was born in 1962, followed by their daughter, Aileen, in 1965. Doug completed his PhD in 1965 and began teaching at New York University, followed by a move to Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona in 1970. Doug fondly remembered the quirky and brilliant students from Prescott College and the freedom to teach and collaborate both across disciplines and the western landscapes.

Doug and Alice divorced in 1973 and Doug married Nina Veregge in 1975. They divorced in 1989. Doug left Prescott to accept short-term geology positions at the University of Minnesota and the University of Arizona. He accepted a position at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, in 1980, where he happily remained for the rest of his career, working in the classroom and leading field camps across the southwest. Doug enjoyed his fellow faculty members from many different departments, and was particularly proud of the strong and versatile Geology department. Teaching and working with students was one of the great joys of Doug's life and he felt Fort Lewis College made strong commitments to the students it served.

Doug loved music, art, reading, dogs, scotch and stimulating conversations with friends. He was a talented and precise builder and cabinet maker, often coming up with creative solutions for special spaces. He continued to run after moving to Durango, enjoying the road races and training with a crowd of locals. He built an innovative house out Wildcat Canyon Road. Retirement in 1997 brought new adventures: singing and traveling with the Durango Chorale Society, working as a consultant on a variety of geology projects around the Four Corners region, and building homes in Durango and in Poland as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. He maintained his professorial ability to conduct long monologues on almost any topic long after his retirement from the classroom. Asking a question about geology usually resulted in an impromptu lecture which was typically too long, according to his children.

Life got even better when Doug met Dottie Peacock in 2000. They shared many happy years of international travel, social engagements, wild parties and time spent enjoying music, art, history, and explorations in the southwest, Europe and North Africa. They made a striking couple, particularly when dressed up for special occasions, and enjoyed each other's company while adventuring.

He was preceded in death by his two beloved brothers, Clif and Dave Brew, and two sweet dogs, Chuska and Tucker. He leaves behind his son Greg and daughter-in-law Rexann, his daughter Aileen and husband Gary, his partner Dottie Peacock, Dottie's son Kyle and his wife Maryanne, granddaughters Anna, Kate, Annika, Tessa, Kate Lee and grandson Luis.

Doug was a supporter of Fort Lewis College, the San Juan Symphony, Music in the Mountains, and Companeros. If you are so inclined, please make a donation in his name to any of these organizations or to Hospice of Mercy, whose nursing staff provided such excellent care to Doug and his family in his final days.

A celebration of Doug's life will be held on Saturday, October 4th, from 2 pm - 4 pm at the Center for Southwest Studies on the Fort Lewis College Campus. Please join us.