Richard Joseph Brown

Richard Joseph Browne lived from March 28, 1956, to September 25, 2024.

It was an extraordinary life.

Richard was a man of passion with a creative spirit that he channeled through falconry, music, art, and writing. His lifelong dedication to the art and practice of falconry began at the age of nine when he watched the Walt Disney program, "Rusty and the Falcon." Despite his father's assertion that it was just a movie, not something that anyone really did, Richard asked many questions (a practice that continued throughout his life). He was eventually pointed in the direction of Blennerville, County Kerry, where he knocked on the door of retired Justice Johnson, a falconer living just miles from his home in Tralee. Johnson gave Richard a copy of Radcliffe's Falconry (1871), a kestrel hood, a few falconry stories, and some advice on where he could find falcons on the Kerry peninsula.

Richard spent most of his adolescence searching for raptors, but he also had a keen interest in all bird species. He cycled up Foley's Glen, walked along the estuaries of Tralee Bay and Banna, and climbed the slopes of Gleann Tí an Easaigh, where he spotted his first peregrine. It was love at first sight!

His first opportunity to train a falcon was in Kenmare, where he found a newly fledged kestrel, water-logged in the tall grass surrounding Ard Tully Castle. It was a disaster. He lost the falcon – jessed and leashed – and made the decision to give up on the idea of falconry until he found a mentor. Learning to play the guitar, song writing, and poetry became his focus over the next few years.

In his mid-20s, Richard travelled to Switzerland and then Germany where he had the opportunity to apprentice to Hans Shönert, a Master Falconer in Tegernsee, Bavaria. Shönert operated a bird of prey center, "Adlerhörst," where Richard handled a variety of raptors, from small falcons to eagles, and even an Andean Condor. He trained two goshawks and travelled to Bratislava, Slovakia, for an International Falconry Meet. The experience made him anxious to live where access to game birds was not reserved to only those who could afford the private hunting fees in Germany.

In 1981, he moved to America, first New Jersey, then New Mexico and Montana. He flew Red-tailed hawks, Harris hawks, a variety of hybrid falcons, and ultimately Peregrines. He enjoyed some very successful seasons, but also some very frustrating seasons. Access to available quarry always at the core of making a good gamehawk.

Richard's interest in raptors, habitat preservation, and biodiversity led him to work on re-introduction projects in Maryland and New Jersey, and conservation projects in New Mexico and Arizona. He returned to Ireland for a few years, where he flew his first Irish peregrine, "Kerry," on snipe. Living in Kerry with wife, Evelyn and children, Brian and Caroline, Richard played music for a living in several pubs and hotels around Ardfert, Tralee, Killarney, and Dingle.

He produced a report on the efficacy of and need for rural transportation while working for Sliabh Luacra Rural Development, which provided some foundational research for the development of a rural transport system in the area. During this period, he was introduced to painting by John Hurley, a friend who basically put a brush in his hand and told him to have at it.

Richard produced dozens of acrylic paintings, which he described as "organic abstracts" – primarily because he really didn't know what he was doing – but he loved doing it. He exhibited at Art Ireland in 2004 at the RDS in Dublin.

After returning to the U.S. in 2004, Richard spent the last 20 years of his life making his living by using his falconry experience in bird abatement. He worked contracts in Maguire Air Force Base in New Jersey, Airway Heights, in Washington, vineyards in Napa Valley, California, and blueberries in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. He continued to play music with friends at every opportunity: in Delaware, New Jersey, New Mexico, and the Sandhills of Nebraska. In 2009 he recorded an EP "Little G," a collaboration with friends in New Mexico and New Jersey. To listen, go to: richardjosephbrowne.bandcamp.com.

The dream of a lifetime, to have access to his own land, was realized in July. He was making plans to develop his recently purchased 40-acre property in Nebraska for wildlife habitat. He continued to pursue the art and practice of falconry up until his unexpected stroke, training a new falcon from his breeding pair for the 2024 season.

Richard was never completely satisfied with his falconry, music, art, or writing – but he enjoyed moments of deep fulfillment in each. He touched the lives of many in both minor and significant ways. He was a gentleman, a philosopher, a scholar, and at times, a curmudgeon. He had a sense of humor that sometimes bordered on being a nutter – but always left people laughing.

He practiced yoga daily and believed that strength, flexibility, courage, and persistence would lead him to reach his goals – in health, in falconry, in music, and in his extraordinary life.

Richard's wife, Evelyn in Harrisburg, Nebraska; son, Brian Browne in Chicago; daughter, Caroline Browne in London; and aunt, Aileen Birk in Arlington, Texas will hold his memory and his spirit in their hearts.

The family will hold a private memorial service in December. A memorial scholarship fund will be established in Richard's name through the Banner County Public School Foundation. Gifts can be mailed directly to BCPSF, PO Box 5, Harrisburg, NE 69345