People

: Bronn, Earlene

: Bronwyn Becker; Contributor to "The where that tells us who we are: A Gunnison Valley Journal," (source: The where that tells us who we are: A Gunnison Valley Journal)

: Brook Charles; Early carpenter and builder in Fruita, Colorado.

: Brook Redlin; Student at Colorado Christian University, graduated May, 2015.

: Brooks Haddaway; Contributor to "In Our Own Write," (source: In Our Own Write: A Gunnison Valley Journal)

: Brother Al (A.A. Johnson); A KOTO Radio DJ, since 1975, Brother Al had a regular show every Sunday. Brother Al arrived in Telluride, Colorado in 1972, and passed away, there in 2003. He was a Christian Minister. Here is his obituary, from the Telluride Watch: http://www.telluridetoday.com/watch/090503.html: Brother Al” Johnston, local preacher, KOTO disc jockey and Free Box aficionado, died Sunday morning at the KOTO studios of a heart attack. He was 77. KOTO Station Manager Ben Kerr found Brother Al at the studio on Sunday morning where he died just prior to his weekly program “Unshackled.” Many people have said that it was fitting that Brother Al died doing something he loved to do – hosting his classical music and religious drama show, a production he had been DJing since KOTO’s inception in 1975. That run made him KOTO's longest running DJ. While most members of the community knew Brother Al as an eccentric religious man with a Sunday morning radio show, few knew that when he arrived in town he led a Southern Baptist congregation in the church that is now home to the Telluride Christian Fellowship. According to TCF Pastor Chuck Barry, Brother Al, who was an ordained Southern Baptist Minster, led that congregation in the late 60s. When that the congregation lost its building and Brother Al's ministry ended with the congregation, he joined KOTO as DJ and his Sunday morning show became his big love; he rarely missed a show. He was known to frequent the Free Box, but often he wasn’t always looking for himself. More often, Brother Al was looking for things to donate to missions in Mexico and other places. Parry came to know Brother Al over the past five years during summer worship services in Town Park, after which Brother Al always enthusiastically participated in the picnics. “Brother Al really loved a meal,” Parry said chuckling. Certain members of the KOTO family and the Telluride community knew Brother Al’s health was failing, and Parry said that though his body had become feeble and it was harder for him to walk, a Sunday morning listener wouldn’t be able to discern that. “To hear his voice on the radio – he was so clear and strong. He had a voice that projected. You wouldn’t know from his radio voice that was the same feeble person,” Parry said. Telluride resident Don Smith came to knew Brother Al during the time he ministered to the Southern Baptist congregation. When the congregation lost their building, Brother Al opted to stay in town and minister where he was. "He had this program at KOTO for what seems like forever, and that became his ministry," said Smith. "Or at least it was part of his ministry. He also took on some custodial work and when he met would meet people on the street and on his custodial jobs, he was a pastor wherever he was." Smith always found Brother Al to be a sincere person. "We would have a meal with him, and he was always interested in what we were doing with family and children," said Smith. This week many Telluride residents shared favorite memories of Brother Al. They talked about the time he dressed up as Santa Claus or that he always remembered children’s names. Pamela Lifton-Zoline remembered Brother Al as incredibly kind and always having fortitude, bravery and courage in the face of life’s travails. “It was clear to me when I first met him that he was somebody who lived in a heightened way," she said this week. "He had a particular gentleness and operated from a place of what seemed to be a kind of joyousness that was genuine, but not dogmatic. “When someone suddenly dies, you realize they had a big part in the community. We’ve had three shocks in quick succession, and you don’t have to know them well to feel the hole left.” Luigi Chiarani, a fellow KOTO DJ and who knew Brother Al from KOTO, said that though he sometimes finds exuberant religious people annoying, he would never say that about Brother Al. “To people who were new in town over the last five years, they were somewhat afraid to approach him because of his outward appearance,” Chiarani said. “If you could just have the curiosity, especially in a small community to have enough respect for your community members to get to know them, then you would find that he was a great person.” Among those remembering Brother Al, there was a shared common sentiment – that he was genuine, caring, radiant, warm and loving, that he had a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, and that he will be truly missed by the community. Brother Al is survived by his wife, Joyce, and his daughter Debby. A memorial service will be held on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. under the canopy in Town Park. Community members are asked to bring a remembrance, anecdote or fond thought of Brother Al to share at the service.