Peter "Pete" Brownlee

Pete Brownlee, age 69, of White Bear Lake and Stillwater, passed away on June 28, 2025 in the home he built, surrounded by his family.

Pete was raised in White Bear Lake where he graduated from White Bear Lake High School.

He was a creative and charming child, who was beloved by his family, teachers, and peers for his adventurous and playful spirit. During his teenage years, in a turbulent era, Pete and his group of friends who called themselves "The Hole in The Wall Gang" supported each other and formed bonds that lasted a lifetime.

In his 20's, Pete found his way into construction and started Beartown Builders and BT Builders with his partner. He met the love of his life, Annie, one night in 1980 while seeing a band with his friends. With no pen and paper available, he memorized her number at the end of the night and called her the next day. They married in 1987. Pete built his wife what she always wanted - a house in the country - and they raised their two children in Stillwater.

He had an encore career as a Site Supervisor with Habitat for Humanity, where he was beloved by the volunteers he guided and the homeowners who shared his joy and passion. He also volunteered with the National Park Service at Fairy Falls, Big River Farm in Marine, and Naomi Family Program of the Union Gospel Mission.

As a child of the 60's, music, books, and art were central to his life. He loved the beat writers like Kerouac and Kesey, poster and comic artists like Rick Griffin and R. Crumb, and musicians from Dylan to Muddy Waters, jazz to bluegrass to rock and roll. His own artistic leanings and endless imagination is apparent in his sketchbooks, postcards, letters, and notes he wrote to those he loved - from lyrics or stanzas that stuck with him to his own (witty) musings on the meaning of life.

He was always playing music (or whistling to the music in his head) whether at work, in his car, or at home, and he will be remembered by many through the songs and albums he loved. Even in his later years, when his disease took away much of his speech, he could still sing every word to his favorite tunes.

Pete loved humanity and loved the earth. He was generous with his time, his gifts, his stories and his jokes. He lived from a place of abundance, always wanting to share what he saw as his good fortune with everyone else. He was equally hardworking as he was playful, spending his free time doing building projects for friends and family, caring for the land and the home he built, volunteering, and making people laugh while he was doing it. He spent as much time as possible outdoors, ideally near water, and enjoyed daily walks with the family dogs in the woods by his house.

Pete always felt like the luckiest guy on earth, and we were all lucky to know him.

Pete was preceded in death by his parents, Barbara and Dick Brownlee, and his older brother, Rick. He will be deeply missed by his wife of 38 years Ann; children Natasha and Clay (Ashley); grandchildren; siblings; in-laws; aunt and cousins; many beloved nieces and nephews; and friends who were like family to him.

Special thank you to Ecumen Hospice for their years of compassionate care on his journey.

A service celebrating Pete's life will be held at Bradshaw Celebration of Life Center (2800 Curve Crest Blvd) on Monday, July 14 at 4pm. There will be a reception from 5pm to 8pm at Lift Bridge Brewery, where we encourage you to bring a story of Pete to share.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Pete's memory to Union Gospel Mission, where he was lovingly known as "Mr. Pete", or to The North 103.3 FM, his favorite public radio station and one of the many nonprofits he supported.