Obituary of Arthur Brewster Rickel

Maj. (Ret) Arthur Brewster (Brews) Rickel, 89, of Boulder, CO passed away peacefully October 9, 2016. He was pre-deceased by his beloved wife of 47 years, Mary Ford Rickel, in December 2000. He is survived by daughters Kathy Hendrix (Richard Finch) of Arvada, and Betsy Rickel (Brad Holland) of Boulder; sons Larry Rickel (Renate Ruby) of Seattle, WA, and Brian Rickel (Gina) of Boulder; 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren; and his sister-in-law Kay Ford. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at 11:00 A.M. at Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 6739 S. Boulder Rd., Boulder CO 80303. It will be followed by graveside services with Military Honors provided by the U.S. Army in the church cemetery. A reception will follow at the church. Brews proudly served his country in both WWII, where he was a U.S. Navy lead corpsman, and the Korean War, where he was a U.S. Army AAA officer. He remained in the Active Reserve after the war, where he gained the rank of Major. After retiring from the Reserves, he worked as an electronics specialist before joining the then one-year-old National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. Most of his years at NCAR were spent studying the flight paths of balloons his team launched. One such assignment moved Brews and his family to Christchurch, New Zealand for four years. Other assignments sent him to French Guiana and Ascension Island. The data collected contributed to the realization of global warming. After NCAR, Brews owned a computer consulting company for 12 years. After retirement, Brews and Mary enjoyed traveling to visit their children and grandchildren, and also traveled to a number of other places, including Hawaii, Alaska, and Ireland. They also enjoyed spending time each fall in Vail, CO. Brews was a train aficionado, both model and real, and always enjoyed the chance to enjoy train trips such as Durango-Silverton, and Copper Canyon. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Joseph’s Indian School, 1301 North Main St., Chamberlain, SD 57325.