Jim Brown passed away peacefully on October 15, 2024, surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Jim grew up on the Holt Ranch in Los Alamos until he was 10, when he moved to Circle Bar B Guest Ranch in Goleta, CA with his mother Florence Brown. Jim attended Santa Barbara High School before attending Cal Poly SLO and majoring in Agricultural Management. He would spend his summers working at the ranch taking out horseback rides and harvesting avocados. After his time at Cal Poly, Jim was called to serve in the Navy Construction Battalion division, the “Seabees”, in the Philippines. While in the Philippines, he received a “very important Christmas card” from a previous ranch guest and stewardess for United Airlines, Betty Hogan, who eventually became his wife of 61 years. “Betty Boop”, as he referred to her, was the love of his life and the “best decision he ever made”. After the Navy, Jim worked for the Santa Barbara City School District while he and Betty raised their family at the ranch. On the weekends he operated the well known Circle Bar B Dinner Theater. When Jim retired, he returned to work at the ranch, where he continued barbequing Tri Tip for over 30 years. Jim is survived by his loving family, friends, and guests of the Circle Bar B. “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…”
