Aliso Creek’s ‘Vi’ Brown dies at 85

The grounds are beautiful, and merry golfers still gather to tee up

at the foot of the canyon bluffs, but there is a sadness in the ocean

breezes at Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course, with the passing of

longtime owner Violet “Vi” Brown.

Brown died Sept. 18 at Hoag Memorial Hospital at the age of 85,

succumbing to an unspecified illness she had struggled with for some

time, according to her nephew, Ed Slymen.

A memorial service is planned for 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, on the

fairway at the course.

Friends, family and associates of Brown are invited to attend the

service.

She and her late husband, Ben, had operated the rugged 80-acre

canyon resort since the mid-1950s. She sold the property to the

Montage Resort & Spa in February 2004.

Known as a hard worker who put in seven-day weeks and 12-hour

days, Brown still visited her office at the resort every day, up to

the week before her death, Slymen said.

She also walked the length of the canyon-nestled course every day

-- a two-mile walk -- up to two weeks before her death.

Brown was born April 25, 1920, in Akron, Ohio, one of three

children. She married Ben Brown a year or two before the couple

bought the canyon property in 1957, when it consisted of only a

nine-hole golf course and a trailer that served as the office and pro

shop.

In 1963 they added the 62-unit hotel complex, naming it Laguna

Beach Country Club and Village.

In 1967, the couple built a restaurant, which they called Ben

Brown’s. At the time it was one of the only coastal dining and

entertainment spots, and it was an immediate success. The Browns

commuted to Laguna Beach from Beverly Hills until moving to the

property in 1968.

One year later, in 1969, the hotel was virtually destroyed in a

flood, but the Browns held on and rebuilt.

When her husband died in 1972, Violet Brown kept the business

running, “clawing her way back” to success, her nephew Slymen said.

She had worked as a bookkeeper for several companies but had never

managed a business on the scale of the Laguna Beach Country Club and

Village.

“She had super courage,” Slymen said. “I remember her walking in

boots through four feet of mud; the mud was so high it was up to the

doorknobs and the fairway was covered in mud.”

Brown’s approach to the business was stated on the resort’s

website, where she described the Canyon Lodge as a “mountain get-away

in the canyon by the beach. We don’t want glitz or gimmicks.”

Although an astute businesswoman, Slymen said his aunt considered

herself a “steward” of the pristine canyon property and adamantly

refused to consider developing it beyond the hotel, restaurant and

golf course, despite many offers.

She also opposed the construction of a bicycle path between the

Aliso Creek property and the adjoining Aliso/Wood Canyons Regional

Park, arguing that cyclists would be at risk from golf balls.

An animal lover, she and her husband at one time owned race

horses, and her beloved St. Bernard was the hotel mascot, Slymen

said. She also played a fair game of golf, although she worked too

hard at managing the golf course to be able to practice the sport

much.

In the 1990s, two more major floods -- one in 1992 and another in

the winter of 1997-98 -- further damaged the facility and presented

still more hurdles for the resort owner.

When the Montage Resort and Spa was built less than a quarter of a

mile away, Brown was impressed with the development -- and developers

-- and agreed to let the canyon parcel go.

“When we saw what the Montage did across the street, met the

people and saw the quality, and then they made a decent offer, she

said it was time to sell,” Slymen said.

Slymen, who had served as general manager of the resort, was also

pleased that the Montage offered a job to his son, Mark, who is the

golf course superintendent.

Brown is survived by Slymen and his children, Luke and Mark Slymen

and Laura Trautman, and a number of great-grand nieces and nephews.