Name: Stuart Brown, Ph.D.

Rank: 1st Lieutenant

Years of Service: 8

Occupation: Professor

Hometown: Las Cruces, NM

Training:  EMT-I, Hazmat-Awareness, Wildland S-130/190, ICS 100, Extrication

Stuart Cameron Brown died peacefully at home in Las Cruces on Thursday, April 8th. He was fifty-three. Stuart was born at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, on June 21, 1955. He was the son of E. A. Brown and Mary Impey Brown, and is survived by his father, E, A, “Dub” Brown, his stepmother, Janet Brown, his brother, Bruce, his two sisters, Sharon and Linda, his stepbrother, Alex Brown, his stepsister, Leila Eminson, his wife, Leslie Coutant, and by many other relatives and friends.

Stuart received his undergraduate degree in English Literature at Columbia, Missouri. He went on to receive a Master’s degree in Poetry from the Creative Writing program at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He then completed a PhD. in Rhetoric at the University of Arizona in Tucson. After completing the degree, Stuart came to New Mexico State University as a faculty member in the Department of English, where he served in various capacities-- as a professor, scholar, and administrator. He was a seminal figure in his chosen field, a valued teacher and mentor to his students, and a respected colleague to many of his fellow professionals.

Stuart was also a volunteer fire fighter and EMT, serving with both the Timberon Volunteer Fire Department in Timberon, New Mexico and the Fairacres Volunteer Fire Department in Las Cruces, New Mexico. His passion for his work as an EMT led him to become an instructor in basic EMT skills, as well as an officer in the Fairacres VFD. He worked with several colleagues from Fairacres to secure a number of grants for fire fighting and EMT equipment.

Besides his passion for education and emergency medicine, Stuart was a lover of the beauty of the natural world, especially of New Mexico’s rich landscape. And he was also particularly fond of animals, especially the dogs and horses he and his wife kept. Anyone interested in sending flowers should consider making a donation to the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley as an alternative. Or donations could be made to any of the local volunteer fire departments.

A ceremony honoring Stuart Brown will be held at 3 p.m. on Monday, April 12th, 2010 AT La Paz-Graham's Funeral Home 555 W. Amador Ave.