Jerry Dwayne BROOKS

FUNERAL HOME

Desert Rose Heather Cremation & Burial

1040 North Columbus Blvd

Tucson, Arizona

Jerry BROOKS Obituary

BROOKS, Jerry Dwayne 81, Tucson electrician, died March 23, 2017. Survived by wife, Renee; sons, Christopher, Jeffrey and Michael; daughters, Tina and Dawn; stepdaughters, Teresa, Brenda, Constance, Debra and Gretchen; sisters, Sherlene and Linda, 24 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by parents, Gerald and Zola Brooks and sister, Penny. He owned Brooks Electric, retired, then worked for Home Depot to stay in touch with people. He enjoyed his red motorcycle, airplanes and eating out for breakfast. Memorial service on Saturday, April 15, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1655 S. Melpomene Way. Arrangements by DESERT ROSE HEATHER MORTUARY.

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Published by Arizona Daily Star on Apr. 9, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for Jerry BROOKS

1 Entry

Jerry at his 61st birthday party (1996)

Terri Lappin

April 15, 2017

This is the text for the Memories presentation I gave at Jerry's memorial service today.

Hi, thank you for coming today. I'm Terri Lappin, Jerry's oldest step daughter.

2017 has been a rough year. My sisters and I gathered in January for our father's memorial service. And, now, for Jerry.

Jerry was a hero. You have to admire a man who marries a woman with 5 girls. This is in addition to 4 of his own, and then adding Chris to our family. Jerry did that with joy in his heart.

Jerry and my mom met the year I graduated from high school. He asked her to dance, she accepted. It was the beginning of their long relationship. I wasn't too sure about Jerry when we first met him. It was nice to see mom happy again, so I figured I could tolerate him for a couple years until I got out on my own. Well, things don't always go as planned. I lived under his roof for 10 years while I put myself through college. During that time, I came to consider him not as a step dad, but as a dad. It was after some growing pains, I assure you, but I came to respect his opinion and cherished the conversations we had around the dinner table.

Soon after mom and Jerry married, they set down some new house rules. We'd been without a live-in father for 10 years so we didn't take to kindly to these new rules. There were five of us sisters and only two of them - majority rules, right? I was elected as spokesperson. I told mom and Jerry, "It's like you against us, and you two are winning!" Jerry's response was "No, we're meshing." And, it was true. The Lappins and Brooks became the real-life Brady Bunch, just in a much smaller home.

One of Jerry's rules was turning off the lights when not in a room. Being a college physics major, it was a simple calculation to figure out how much it cost to run a light bulb for an extra 15 minutes when I stepped out of a room. It's was minuscule! I explained this to Jerry, even commenting on the wear and tear on the switch being turned off and on - I knew I was right! In the way I think all 10 of us kids know, Jerry looked at me - didn't argue my point, but simply said, "My house, my rules."

Jerry allowed us to drive his vehicles, but the deal was it cost us 10-cents a mile and we had to buy our own gas. It didn't seem fair at the time, but to this day when I pay my car insurance or repair bills, I think about how good that deal was.

My sister, Gretchen, remembers going into mom and Jerry's bedroom and pleading with mom for money so she could buy some pants from Pant Warehouse..she was about 16 years old. Mom kept asking why she didn't have a job and why was these pants were so important..Jerry kept his eyes on the tv. Gretchen didn't think he was listening.. As she was about to give up on mom, all of the sudden Jerry grabbed his wallet from the nightstand a tossed her some cashenough to buy the pants and with money left over for a shirt...She says, "I thought Jerry was so cool!"

My sister, Brenda, wanted me to say she's sorry she couldn't make it today. One of her fondest memories is when her water heater went out. Now, she lives in Alabama. She called Jerry and, from 3000 mile away, he walked her through replacing the heating elements. Another time it the thermostat that needed replacing. She says, "He was so concerned that I didn't turn the current off to the heater. He kept saying "honey you did shut the power off at the circuit breaker." I assured him, then told him that Clayton (her son) was right next to me with the phone in case he needed to call 911. She ends this with "LOL" - "laugh out loud".

Jerry had a great influence on my life. Our mom has always had a strong faith in God - a faith that never falter even in the darkest of times. I believe she met her spiritual match in Jerry. They were meant to be together. Mom, thank you for finding us the best step-father.

Now, at the time Jerry came into our lives, my faith in God had faltered. God didn't exist to me. Jerry wanted us to learn about the LDS religion so we had missionaries coming to the house. I figured to keep the peace I should at least get an academic understanding of his religion - maybe to argue some points with him. However, through Jerry's insistence that we learn about the LDS way, I came to realize that I had quelled the Holy Spirit within me. I once again became aware of God's presence in my life. It marked the beginning of my investigation of various Christian religions, which eventually lead me to the Lutheran Church. I give credit to Jerry for directing me back to a God centered life.

My sister, Connie, summed Jerry up best on Facebook saying, "He was a great man. He taught us all how to become responsible adults and how to take care of our families the best we could. He loved us all and in turn, we loved him. We all will miss him greatly.

The Brooks and Lappin kids shared an extraordinary man. I can't express enough heartfelt thanks to Jeff, Michael, Tina, and Dawn for sharing their dad with us. I can't imagine life without the Brooks family, and especially now without Jerry.