JAMES BROOKS

James A. Brooks
Sept. 25, 1924 - April 17, 2020

MUSTANG
James A. Brooks, 95, passed away Friday, April 17, 2020, in his Mustang, OK home. Born Sept. 25, 1924, in Canton, OH, he was preceded in death by parents Joe & Marjorie Brooks, of Canton, OH; and sister, Maewirth Ritchey, of North Canton, OH. Jim met Lois Elaine Worland in Nebraska, where he was stationed with the U.S. Army Air Force flying on B-29s, and they married in Sept. 1946 after his discharge from the Army. They moved to Chicago, where Jim was enrolled in Coyne Electrical College. While living in Ohio, Jim worked at Timken Roller Bearing Co. and Irwin Steel Fabricating. He also earned private and commercial pilot's licenses and his flight instructor rating. He was a professional flight instructor and became a Pilot Examiner for the FAA. In 1970, he became operations inspector for the FAA in New York and later transferred to the FAA Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, where he was a flight instructor, test pilot, and pilot for the FAA Maintenance Section, retiring in 1992. As an avid flight instructor and pilot, Jim logged over 20,000 hours during a 50-year career. He was a charter member of the East Central Ohio Pilot Association and member of The Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen, and received the Wright Brothers "Master Pilot" Award for flying 50 years without an accident and the FAA award for 50 years of aviation safety. Jim was also an Adjunct Professor at Rose State College, teaching instrument procedures in a Flight Simulator in their aviation program, retiring in 2005. He is survived by his wife of 74 years, Lois Worland Brooks; daughter, Lynn M. Harrison; sons, James A. Brooks III and Todd Michael Brooks; grandson, Cameron Brooks Harrison; and his brother, Joseph Brooks and wife Carol, of Bolivar, MO.