William Keith "Will" Brooks

1955 - 2018

William "Will" Keith Brooks, 63, of Yuma, Arizona, passed away at his home, surrounded by family, Thursday, May 10th, 2018, following his battle with cancer. He was born in Yuma, Arizona, and the youngest son of Billy Ray and Joyce (Love) Brooks.

In 1975, he was married to his high school sweetheart, the former Julie Gresham, at Morningside Baptist Church, Yuma, Arizona. They have two children.

He lived his life honoring God, his Country, and his family. He was a selfless and humble man, who enjoyed fishing, hunting, cooking, baking, and spending time with his family.

Mr. William Brooks began his career with the former U.S. Customs Service (USCS) in 1983 at the Port of Calexico, California. During his more than 30 years of service, he held many leadership positions, including the Port Director at the Port of Andrade, California; the Area Port Director at the Port of San Luis from 2007 to 2014; and the Acting Director, Field Operations, Tucson, Arizona. Mr. Brooks' last leadership role was as the Director of Field Operations in Tucson from 2014 until 2017.

Prior to joining USCS, Mr. Brooks served for seven years as a Deputy Sheriff for the Yuma County Sheriff's Office. He attended Arizona Western College, majoring in Criminal Justice.

Mr. Brooks helped create the Unified Cargo Processing (UCP) where joint cargo inspections are conducted simultaneously by CBP officers and Mexican Customs on U.S. soil. This program began July 2016 and has been implemented at most Arizona ports and throughout the southwest border. He also initiated the future expansion of UCP into the airport environment by introducing the idea of unified processing of exported merchandise destined to Mexico through the Mesa Gateway Airport which is currently being coordinated in Phoenix, Arizona.

He also pioneered the Joint Prosecutions Enforcement Group (JPEG) where CBP officers are embedded at the Homeland Security Investigations/ICE offices and assist in case processing and investigations which has resulted in an increase of prosecutions and additional arrests.

He also spearheaded juvenile prosecutions by working with the the U.S. Attorney's Office to ensure they received appropriate charges for their crimes versus the historic slap on the hand.

Mr. Brooks was awarded the key to the City of Douglas for his implementation of the Global Enrollment Center (GEC) and the Trusted Traveler lane at the Port of Douglas (Renamed:Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry).

Lastly, a street was dedicated in honor of Mr. William Brooks for his contributions to the City of San Luis community.

He leaves behind his beloved wife Julie; his son Gregory Brooks of Chandler, Arizona; and a daughter Leslee (Nathan) Boggs, of Yuma, Arizona. His grandchildren, Tomi, Jacob, Leela, and Billy, as well as his bonus grandchildren, Jonathan, Kaitlynn, and Keston. He is survived by his Mother, Joyce Brooks, and Mother in Law, Jane Gresham, both of Yuma, Arizona. He also leaves behind a brother, Davie (Karen) Brooks of Yuma, Arizona.

He was preceded in death by his Father, Billy Ray Brooks, and his Father in Law, Olin Gresham.

Besides residing in Arizona, Mr. Brooks lived in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, between 1985-1988 and also Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas, from 1988-1992.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1pm on Tuesday, May 22nd at Church For the City, 3726 East County 13th Street, Yuma, Arizona, officiated by Pastor Tyrone Jones.

A special thank you to Hospice of Yuma and two of his private nurses, Rita and Martina of Apony, who cared for him during his final days.