The Loose Cannon: Chris Brown – A Life Well Lived!

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Back in June of 2018, I went to Wednesday night bocce with my mixed heritage black lab, Yogi. Lin was out of town, so the two of us boys went unsupervised.

Over the course of the evening, I drank a bit too much, but not so much that I didn’t know I shouldn’t be driving. Home was less than a mile away, so I left the car there and we started walking.

As we were walking through Rancho De Napa, I noticed a “youngerish” couple unloading their car. Uninvited, I engaged them in conversation in my inebriated condition.

They were Jennifer and Chris Brown. They had just bought their home here and were getting moved in. They still owned a home in Buda, Texas.

Chris was Sammy Hagar’s personal pilot. Sammy’s jet was kept at the Napa Airport, and Sammy wanted Chris available on short notice. So, they decided to buy a place in Yountville to be closer to Sammy’s jet. They both loved Texas and weren’t too excited about having to leave Texas. On top of that, Jennifer had to give up her successful career as a personal trainer.

Chris and I quickly became good friends. I don’t know why. We had very little in common, and he was 10 years my junior with a very youthful spirit. There were times over the years that I felt more like a big brother to him.

Both Chris and Jennifer were big wine fans. At that time I was a winery partner, Chris may have viewed me with more admiration than I deserved. Chris, on the other hand, had amazing stories of his various jobs and travels as a commercial pilot.

As captain of the jet, it was Chris’s job to find a co-pilot for the flights. For one flight, none of his “regular” co-pilots were available. They had just lifted off from a New York airport and climbed to about 10,000 feet when the warning light for low oil pressure came on for one of the two engines. After considering the options, Chris had no choice but to shut down the engine. This was not received well by the co-pilot who became more of a liability than an asset. Chris kept his cool and communicated the problem to the air traffic controller. He returned to the airport and was immediately cleared for an emergency landing. All went well and Chris landed the jet.

Jennifer confirmed that incident. “Yes! That was a crazy emergency landing he had to do. Although, he seemed totally cool telling me about it a few hours later.”

Chris found out later what had caused the low engine oil pressure. When the airport mechanic checked the engine oil level with the dipstick, he accidentally screwed it back in with the dipstick retention cable in the way of allowing a tight seal around the dipstick. The engine was pumping oil out as the jet climbed that day, until the warning light came on.

One day, Chris asked me to accompany him to the airport as he did a thorough inspection of the jet as required on a regular schedule. After getting a tour of the small jet, Chris directed me to sit in the co-pilot’s seat. I was feeling like a 10-year-old scanning all the gauges, lights, levers and buttons when Chris handed me an inspection checklist to read as he checked things out.

I was grinning from ear to ear with my part in this important procedure. Then Chris said, “And now we are going to perform a high-speed taxi.” A high-speed taxi is when the jet is taken through all the steps of a real takeoff, even accelerating down the runway approaching liftoff speed, before braking, turning around and repeating that step in the other direction.

We got buckled in and Chris communicated his intentions with the control tower. As we continued going through the checklist, Chris said that I would need to test out the brakes on the co-pilot side as the jet started to move. He explained how to do that and emphasized that the brakes were sensitive. Even so, I underestimated the sensitivity of the brakes, and we came to an abrupt stop. Chris just smiled.

Completing the checklist took several minutes, but we eventually got in position and performed the high-speed taxi. The acceleration pushed me back in my seat. Wow, we were really doing it!

For me, it was an amazing experience! Before we left, we posed for the following picture:

Yes, that’s the picture of me I use in the header of my Loose Cannon column.

We made another trip to the airport for Chris to monitor repairs to the jet from a bird strike. That was another incident he handled calmly.

Chris was in awe of fighter pilots and would have made a great one. He had great respect for veterans and active duty soldiers. On more than one occasion, when leaving a restaurant, he would anonymously pay the tab for a table of veterans or soldiers.

One thing Chris and I had in common was that we were both frugal. Chris found a nice shirt on the roadside one day. He estimated it to be about my size and tactfully offered it to me, concerned I might be insulted. To this day, Lin prefers that shirt over most of my purchases. I wear it a lot.

Living in a 55+ manufactured home park, you know that with time, some of your friends and neighbors will be passing on. In the 10-plus years we have been here, we’ve lost many friends and neighbors. For the most part, they have been older or were dealing with a known illness for years.

Chris was younger than most in the park, and very fit! But, at one point, Chris shared some health concerns with me and described his symptoms. In hindsight, I should have pushed him harder to get those concerns addressed.

Chris would eventually be diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Chris was a fighter and did his best to combat the disease with research, treatments, diet and exercise. Even in his final months, he would ride his bike to Calistoga and back. On one of our walks together, he pushed me to walk further and faster than my pre-knee replacement knee would allow.

As the saying goes, he “fought the good fight” and fought it better than anyone else I have ever met.

Five years after meeting Chris, my good friend passed away.

As I was writing about Chris, I struggled with how to describe him. I reached out to both Jennifer and Chris’s sister Kathy for help.

Kathy shared his obituary that described Chris far better than I can. I’ll share parts of that tribute:

Christopher Starbuck Brown, 63, passed away peacefully in the loving presence of his wife Jennifer on June 13, 2023, after a steadfast and courageous fight with pancreatic cancer. A fight that may have taken his life, but never defeated him.

Of Yountville, California, and Buda, Texas. Originally from Troy, New York, Chris was born on February 28, 1960, to Beverly Ann Comstock and Harold Gifford Brown.

Graduated from Lansingburgh Senior High School, in New York. Attended Hudson Valley Community College where he received his certification in welding. Not wasting any time to explore the world, he packed up his old Chevy Impala with $300 bucks in his pocket and took that welding degree to Houston, Texas, where he worked as a welder for a time, before starting his own limousine business. He then worked for Federal Express, but all the while through his life and jobs, he continued to pursue his love of flying.

Flying ran deep in his blood, coming from a family of pilots. He started flying as a teenager and never stopped. To gain extra flight hours needed to be a professional pilot, he became a flight instructor teaching new students the trade. Eventually securing a professional flying career with Outback Steakhouse, then XOJET.

Chris didn’t just live life, he attacked it with gusto and great passion. He carried himself with a humble confidence, with his big Texas hat and boots. He was the master of witticism, a sense of humor that always brought laughter to the room. A notable presence, warm and approachable, instantly likeable, he loved deeply and had a laugh as large as his beloved state of Texas. His passion and Texas-style laugh will be missed deeply by those who love him.

He was active and kept fit, often biking, running, and lifting weights. An enthusiast of living life abundantly, one chapter at a time. Loved the ocean, boating, waterskiing, fishing, hunting, fine wine, music and dance. But of all his great loves, his love of flying and food would be his greatest joys in life.

For all his sarcastic nature, when it came to being a pilot, he was serious and calm, flying celebrities, politicians and CEOs safely to their destinations. Too humble to say himself, he was a gifted pilot, in 1984 safely landing his rented Cessna 152 that lost all power, onto Blue Water Highway, County Road 257 in Clute, Texas, miraculously avoiding power lines or any casualties. He had the spirit of an explorer, a zest for travel, and his profession fed this adventurous passion by bringing him to all corners of the world, even living in Egypt for a time.

He often said, leaving now was not in the plan, but he lived more life than most, owning every second that this life could give; leaving an enduring impression and touching many lives throughout this large world. We will hear his laugh and see his smile, forever able to reflect and revisit memories and keep the flame of his impact on our lives burning bright.