Memorial services set for Jake Brisbin Jr.

Avalanche staff

Memorial services for former Presidio County Judge Jake Brisbin, who died in a plane crash last week in Mexico, are planned in El Paso and Marfa.

The first service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday (Sept. 23) at Fort Bliss Center Chapel One; attendees must get military clearance to enter the base.

The second service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 24) at the Presidio County Courthouse in Marfa.

Interment details are pending. Visitation is tonight from 5-7 p.m. at Harding-Orr-McDaniel, 320 Montana Ave. in El Paso.

Brisbin, who was also a former Marfa mayor, was killed Sept. 15 while surveying flood damage along the U.S.-Mexico border near Presidio in his role as executive director of the Rio Grande Council of Governments. Also on the plane were Carlos Marin of El Paso, the U.S. commissioner on the International Boundary and Water Commission, Mexican Commissioner Arturo Herrera and pilot Matthew P. Juneau of El Paso.

Searchers found the plane two days after it was reported missing in the Sierra Madre range about 13 miles into Mexico from Ojinaga and Presidio.

Brisbin was born July 25, 1948, in Marfa and had attended Trinity University, St. Mary’s University and Sul Ross State University. He was a retired U.S. Marine, a Vietnam War veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. Before Brisbin was named Rio Grande COG director in 1999, he was Presidio County judge from 1994-99 and a member of the COG’s board of directors. (The Rio Grande COG covers an area from Alpine to Las Cruces, N.M.) He also was owner and CEO of the Marfa TV Cable Co. He was preceded in death by his parents, Betty Elmendorf Hill Brisbin and Jake Brisbin Sr.

Survivors include his wife of 20 years, Cookie Brisbin; daughters Shannon of Orlando, Fla., Tonya of Albuquerque, N.M., and Kelli Morgan of Shreveport, La.; grandchildren Reece, Madison, Taylor, Jayden and Sinjin; two sisters, Julie Reeves of Australia and Karen Darling of Colorado; one brother, Charlie Hill of Alpine; and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Big Bend Community Action Committee Inc., to benefit the Presidio-Ojinaga flood victims, at BBCAC, Inc, P.O. Box 265, Marfa, TX 79843.

The men had been surveying Rio Grande flood conditions in the Presidio/Ojinaga area and around Luis Leon Dam in Mexico. Their plane left El Paso on Monday morning and was reported missing late that day.

U.S. Border Patrol Agents, assisted by Customs and Border Protection personnel, found the wreckage around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Bill Brooks, spokesman for the Border Patrol in Marfa. He described the crash site as remote, about 23 miles northwest of Presidio and 13 miles from the Rio Grande. Searchers had combed the area in adverse weather conditions, which were made worse by the flooding.

“Judge Brisbin dedicated his life to public service, first through his service with the 3rd Marine Division in the Vietnam [War], and then later as Marfa City Commissioner, mayor of Marfa and Presidio County judge,” the Rio Grande COG said in a statement. “During his tenure at the Council of Governments, he also served as chair of the National Association of Development Organizations Homeland Security Task Force, chair of the Texas Association of Regional Councils Executive Director’s Council and countless other positions.

“He was an inspiration to his staff and a leader for our region,” the statement added. “He will be deeply missed by us all.”

In a statement last week, U.S. Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez, D-District 23, said, “I am saddened to hear that no survivors were found. My thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends. Judge Jake Brisbin had a long history of working for the Upper Rio Grande area. … He helped many of the rural communities of my congressional district in West Texas. His leadership will be sincerely missed and his work will have a lasting impression on our communities.”

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Anthony “Tony” Garza praised the cooperation by U.S. and Mexican officials who worked to find the airplane, including the Mexican Army, the Ciudad Juarez Civil Aviation Authority, the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection.

Added Lorenzo Reyes Jr., CEO of Upper Rio Grande Workforce Solutions: “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family of Judge Jake Brisbin. We covered the same counties and could always count on his support when it came to workforce development and the needs of the rural communities. His death is a true loss to our region and the Rio Grande Council of Governments.”

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