Alan Priest Brockway

Alan Brockway was born in Hebron, NH on August 21, 1936 and was living in Bandon, OR when he died on July 16, 2020. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy (Seaman) Brockway, sister Barbara (Brockway) Perey, son Joseph Brockway, daughter Lesley Hoppert, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Priest Brockway and Eleanor Duncan Brockway, brother Duncan Brockway and sister Gerry (Brockway) Perrin, first wife Barbara (Fink) Fuller, and daughter Julie (Brockway) Hunsaker.

Alan and Dottie Brockway were also adopted as parents into the family of Mary (Moquino) Benavidez several years after they first met the family in 1973. Through this connection they gained a large, extended family headed by Jose and Mary Benavidez with many children and grandchildren.

Alan's passions included the natural world, birdwatching, being outdoors, learning and teaching. For most of his career he was a professor teaching biology, physiology and related courses at the University of Colorado in Denver. There he taught hundreds of students, chaired the Biology Department and guided numerous students as a pre-med advisor.

Alan's hobbies over the years included setting up a detailed model train set and village, fly tying and fishing, gardening and camping in South Park at the land they dubbed Porcupine Acre. He was known to keep lists, including detailed lists of the birds he spotted all over the country. He served as a volunteer for the National Council of Churches and in various roles through the United Church of Christ.

When Alan and Dottie retired in 1997, they moved to Estes Park, Colorado and enjoyed traveling in their motor home. Alan continued his volunteer work teaching about birds at elder hostels in Colorado and Pennsylvania. He also volunteered to help where needed for Salud Family Health Center for the medically underserved. The Brockways moved to Sierra Vista, AZ in 2004, where Alan served as a docent at the San Pedro River Riparian Reserve. They eventually moved into their motor home full time and traveled the country watching birds, sightseeing and visiting family and friends.

They settled in Lakeside, OR and then Bandon, OR. Alan was known there for working hard on his garden plot at Good Earth Community Garden and sharing the wonderful vegetables he grew. Alan will be remembered for his distinctive laugh as well as his kind and generous spirit.

If you would like to make a gift in memory of Alan Brockway, please consider the University of Colorado Brockway-Ferguson Pre-Health Student Support Fund: https://giving.cu.edu/fund/brockway-ferguson-pre-health-student-support-fund

Arrangements are under the care of Coos Bay Chapel, 541-267-3131. Friends and family are encouraged to sign the online guestbook.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Alan Priest Brockway, please visit our floral store.