It is with great love that we share the passing of Horus Brailsford on October 25, 2024, after a long cancer journey. He spent his final days in the place he loved best – his home along the banks of the Gallatin River, surrounded by family.
Horus grew up in the semi-rural Orinda area of Northern California with his sister, Nancy, although his family also spent time in Carmel, Sebastopol and the Russian River area. His father was a Superior Court judge, and his educated and well-read mother did her best to meet the needs of her spirited, non-conformist son. Horus showed a fiercely independent spirit and unique zest for life. No locked door or “No Trespassing” sign could deter his curious mind. No underground tunnel or abandoned vehicle was necessarily off limits, and no “rule” lacked a way around it with a bit of gumption. He utilized the “better to ask forgiveness than ask permission” approach and he earned a reputation as a scrapper who did not hesitate to jump in and defend a victim by clobbering whoever he thought needed a taste of their own medicine; it was an easy decision, as he couldn’t abide bullies.
The day after graduating from high school, Horus proudly enlisted in the Marine Corps and enjoyed learning how to be a jet mechanic. After his military service, he enrolled in Cal-Poly, in San Luis Obispo in farm and ranch management, delving into some of his lifelong passions: animal husbandry, farming and ranching.
After college, Horus launched his first business venture by transporting farm eggs across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. He knew he wanted to be his own boss, and wasted no time launching his entrepreneurial career with a variety of businesses through the years in both California and Northern Idaho: chopping and selling wood, truck farming, selling fruits and vegetables roadside; cattle ranching, a roof tear-off and dumpster removal business. He studied and grew herbs, creating his own teas and herbal remedies while also raising a herd of goats, each one named after a favorite flower. In California he trained his draft horses to pull wagons and plow fields.
If you rode shotgun in his pickup truck, he could tell you what crops were growing in nearby fields–along with pointed critiques on how straight (or not) a row had been planted or whether a farmer was a bit late getting a crop harvested. As a boss, he was known to hold high expectations and be fair in his dealings.
In mid-life, Horus had a very serious accident and nearly lost his life. While hooking up a tow on the shoulder of a Los Angeles freeway, he was hit by a speeding car and suffered severe injuries. Many of his friends held vigil for him during his long hospital stay as the odds he faced were extraordinary.
After a series of surgeries and very long recovery, Horus sold his successful towing business, and moved north.
In Montana, he returned to ranching with over a thousand head of sheep at his ranch in Paradise Valley where he enjoyed fishing or paddling on the Yellowstone River in his downtime. A skilled dog-trainer, he was often seen with his border collie herding sheep. He also raised Fjord horses and enjoyed riding with his family and grandkids, offering carriage rides to friends and neighbors in the area. In Bozeman, as early as the late 1980s, Horus began investing in property. He purchased several apartment buildings housing college students around the MSU campus, and a rental home on Martha’s Vineyard with his former wife, Susan, where they often vacationed with her Massachusetts family during the shoulder season.
He founded Bozeman Portable Storage, which he managed and grew for decades before turning the business over to his sons in the last couple of years, and even after that, he loved to stay abreast of recent happenings. Along with his wife Susan Hannah Brailsford, he developed the highly sought-after Gallatin River Hideaway wedding and event venue, building cabins and unique tree houses on the property which have been highlighted in travel magazines.
His adult kids recall helping deliver and bottle-feed baby animals, milking goats, grooming horses, mucking out stalls, collecting eggs, hauling brush, feeding cattle from the back of a moving pickup truck, along with target practice and other farm-life experiences with their larger-than-life dad. Inspired by his son Matt’s time in other countries, Horus took several trips to Holland, the British Isles, China and Thailand. Always up for a good road trip, preferably in an RV, he took many happy adventures with his beloved wife Susan Hannah throughout the West, often visiting vineyards in Washington, Oregon and Northern California after which he would return with different wines to enjoy along with a wealth of knowledge of the craftsmanship behind good wine.
Growing up on the Pacific Coast instilled a love of the sea in Horus and he bought a sailboat in his 50’s, which provided voyages from Martha’s Vineyard to the San Juan Islands with whoever was gutsy enough to join him (along with his version of on the spot training). After spending some of his younger years as a commercial fisherman out of Bodega Bay, Horus and Susan Hannah returned periodically to explore the area. Here they found the opportunity to purchase a fixer-upper wedding venue and named it Bodega Bay Secret Gardens where they tended to the building and grounds and replanted trees and flowers to help the place come alive again with color. A true flower-lover, he even took a quick trip back there late this summer despite his illness for the sole purpose to check on one of his favorite flowers that had come into bloom, the fragrant Pink Ladies (amaryllis belladonna), something he looked forward to every year.
Ever the thrifty and cautious spender, Horus once decided that instead of having his aging houseboat professionally moved from the Sacramento River to his new spot in Bodega Bay, he would take it to water, up the rocky coast himself. Ignoring warnings of caution, and accompanied by his wildly courageous electrician who hoped it would be a fun trip, Horus took his houseboat through the San Francisco Bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge and north through choppy waters as the weather worsened. His worried wife tried to stay in contact through spotty cell phone service, and despite losing one of the engines along the way, Horus safely put-putted into the Bodega Bay harbor just after nightfall, ending the intended “three-hour tour” that turned into a surprisingly long and eventful voyage.
Horus is remembered for his legendary work ethic, love of growing things, solid pragmatism, and a “don’t ask for help until you’ve read the instructions” brand of self-reliance; his love of recounting “whipper-snapper stories” from his youth; philosophical talks, and even-keeled problem-solving skills. He loved making the seemingly ordinary beautiful and transforming an overlooked opportunity into something truly special with his vision and ingenuity. He believed in rising early, afternoon naps, and keeping his bird feeders filled. Later in life, he also loved knee-slapping laughter and deep discussions during “cocktail hour” in front of the fireplace with family and friends, “watching the trees grow” from his porch, bird watching and armchair reading. There are more stories of his colorful life than we could possibly share here, and we will hold those close to our hearts.
Horus is dearly missed by his loving wife, Susan Hannah; children, Paul, Victoria (Arjen) and Matthew (Linda); sister, Nancy Eaton; his grandchildren, Juliana and Nicholas Kilmurray and Dane and Beorn Brailsford. He is also survived by Susan Hannah’s children, Julie and Eric (Teri) Hellebrandt; and grandchildren, Brandon, Danielle, Jarrett, Dominic, Mariah and Makea.
He was preceded in death by his parents William Horace Brailsford and Virginia Beanston Brailsford and his former wife Susan Pohl McKevitt. His care and arrangements were made by Dokken-Nelson although there will be no service, and memorial donations can be made to the American Cancer Society. Horus’s family wishes to extend their gratitude to hospice and the good people at the Cancer Center at Bozeman Health who treated him so well.
Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com [dokkennelson.com]
