Menu
Search by Name
Search by Name
About
FUNERAL HOME
Thomas Brooks Obituary
Brooks
Poughkeepsie - Thomas S. Brooks, 89, formerly of Poughkeepsie, NY, and recently the V.A. Hudson Valley Health Care System, Castle Point, passed peacefully into God's hands on June 4th, 2014. He was born on February 25, 1925 and was the son of Thomas and Catherine (Smith) Brooks. His grandmother Mary Brooks and Aunt Marian Brooks raised him.
Tom graduated from Carmel High School in 1943. He proudly served in the navy as a pharmacist's mate second class navy Construction Battalion (NCB Seabees) during World War II from 1943-1946. After the war Tom became a licensed practical nurse. He did private duty nursing.
Tom enjoyed traveling all over the world, taking many cruises. He made friends wherever he went. He loved visiting museums and going to Broadway shows. Tom knew his way around New York City like the back of his hand. Tom was an avid reader and an historical buff. He was interested in genealogy and family roots, with one of his sayings being, "In order to know where we are, we need to know where we came from."
Tom is survived by several cousins: Mary Folster of Milton; Lori Allen of Poughkeepsie; Goddaughter, Christine Sickler of Olive Bridge; Barbara Haan of LaGrange; and Charles Brooks of Tampa, Florida. He is also survived by nieces Andrea Froehlich and Regina Bradford, both of Florida; and nephew Mark McCarthy of Cape Vincent, NY. His sister Eileen McCarthy, and brother John Casey predeceased him, as well as his cousins Charles Allen and Charles Brooks. He leaves behind many lifelong friends. The family wishes to thank the V.A. Medical Hospital for their dedicated care during his illness, especially Christina Hrynyk, Dietician. Many thanks to George and Karen Aposporos for their kindness and frequent visits.
To sum up his life Tom was a gentle, compassionate, humble man who was well-respected and well-loved by his family and friends. One of his greatest legacies was his gift to touch so many lives with his wisdom and unconditional love. There are no calling hours. Tom will be cremated with interment of ashes held at Fishkill Rural Cemetery, at the convenience of the family.
Funeral Arrangements were handled by the Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home 371 Hooker Ave. Poughkeepsie, New York 12603.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Thomas Brooks
David Hammond
June 2, 2025
Remembering Tommy, always.
David Hammond
June 2, 2024
Remembering Tom with affection always.
Jessica Vargas (Crystal Chandelier)
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas (Crystal Chandelier)
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas (Crystal Chandelier)
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas (Crystal Chandelier)
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas (Crystal Chandelier)
October 27, 2023
You have always played a great father role. Love you godfather
Jessica Vargas
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas
October 27, 2023
Jessica Vargas
October 27, 2023
To Tom our Godfather. I just want you to know you were loved by so many incredible people, you raised us well and I thank goodness for everything you have done for my mom and siblings. You raised us from birth with mom. I remember you named me (Crystal Chandelier). We had an amazing bond since birth although you baptized my oldest sister Jennifer Vargas you treated all of us as your children and had a closer relationship with me from an accident we were in me as a newborn. I have so many memories along with so much respect
David Hammond
June 2, 2023
To this day, i smile whenever I think of Tom. He brought joy to all of us and will always be part of our lives.
Ann Guido
July 8, 2014
Rest in Peace, Tommy. We have many wonderful memories of you and our Aunt Kathleen Scott.
The Guido Family
Mary Guido Hassell
July 7, 2014
Among my happiest memories is the day Tommy took me to Rhinebeck while I was visiting my Aunt. We stopped off to visit an old woman in a nursing home on the way. I can still see Tommy placing his leather briefcase on the nurses counter while he discussed his friend with her. We then drove through the beautiful countryside and walked through the hotel. Tommy explained the historical significance with great enthusiasm and love. We then went around the corner to the fragrance shop where Tommy bought the aftershave he always wore. I bought a silver butterfly ring in that shop and, to this day, every time I look at it I think of that wonderful day. He showed me the theater he loved to attend. We talked non stop, and since we share a similar sense of humor we laughed a lot too. I met Tommy through my Aunt. He told me he had never met any one like her in his entire life. She was unique and eccentric and Tommy was totally accepting and always listened to her stories. Through her he got to know my entire family: my mother, my sisters, my brother, my children and my nieces and nephews. Over the years he never failed to ask about how each and every one was doing. When I had to make a decision on end-of-life care for my Aunt, it was Tommy who helped, comforted, and consoled me. He came to see me each day while I was staying in her apartment and drove me to the hospital each morning. When my brother was killed in a work related accident I called Tommy instinctively knowing he would provide sympathy and words of comfort. My son became a great friend of Tommy's. They discussed recipes, politics, history and literature. My Aunt told me She could not have managed her last years without Tommy's help. She called him her knight in shining armor. And so I salute you, Sir Thomas Sebastian Brooks, my knight in shining armor too. I will miss and love you forever.
Mary Guido Hassell, niece of Kathleen Scott
Regina, Ernesto & Preston
June 15, 2014
Bravo Tio! Bravo for a life well lived. It is evident Tio touched us all individually and left us with lifelong lessons. We were so pleased to be able to attend the military service and pay our respects. The playing of Taps was so moving. Father Ray's words about love and relationships could not be more appropriate. Tio modeled love embracing everyone. This was a truly beautiful tribute to a wonderful, adventurous and loving soul. We will always treasure that the Library of Congress has recorded details of Tio's military history. The personal narratives and photographs are priceless. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/86439
June 13, 2014
It's amazing to read all these stories of how Cousin Tom touched everyone's life, all in a different way. He will be missed by many and his caring ways will be remembered. I will surely miss all our long talks and know he is conversing with the angels.
David Hammond
June 13, 2014
My favorite toy as a toddler was a small black-and-white Teddy bear that Tommy gave me, the youngest of three siblings, on one of his wonderful visits to our apartment in the Bronx. We always looked forward to Tom coming to see us. He was really the best friend our Dad ever had, and Dad and Mom were always happy and relaxed when Tom was around. When I was a little older, Tom presented me with a plastic sword, replete with a plastic “ruby” in the hilt, with which I could play at being a knight. He had seen me looking at it on a rack of toys in a local drugstore and surprised me with it. Tom always did things like that for people. He had so much love to share, and he shared it freely and easily. Tom was a part of our family, a second father to us as kids, a supportive friend to our Mom, and a touchstone that brought out the very best in our Dad. I remember that, as my brother and I began to grow, Tom used to refer to our increasingly large feet as “gondolas” and “gunboats.” He wasn't making fun of us, he was enjoying our growing up, and his teasing was admiring and full of love. He stayed our friend all his life and was always there for every family occasion. He took care of our Aunt Lillian when she was paralyzed by a stroke and visited her regularly in her last years in a nursing home. When he himself was packing up his apartment in preparation for his move to Castle Point, he took the time to send me a book he thought I would appreciate. When I would talk to him by phone even towards the end, he would always ask what I was doing and give me advice. I know he did beautiful, sensitive things like this all his life for a multitude of friends. I send my sincerest condolences to Tom's family, whom I know he loved very much. I wish that I could live my life as beautifully as Tom lived his. He will always, for me, be the epitome of what a “good man” can be.
Susan Keith
June 12, 2014
Tommy Brooks came into my family's life through the enduring friendship he formed with my father Jack when they both served in the Navy during WWII. After the war, as Jack's family grew, he embraced all of us. His visits when we were children brought joy and laughter to the house, and are some of our happiest memories. When I was a single young adult in NYC and he lived here, he would call to see how I was, cheer me up when I was down, suggest an outing. Our adult friendship grew from then and he was a part of most of the significant events of my life including my wedding and coming to the hospital to help my husband take me and our then baby daughter home. He was the most caring, loving person, and his generous spirit is unmatched. He looked after my father's sister who lived in Poughkeepsie after she had a stroke, would follow her to hospital or nursing home and keep us posted. His patience, excellent nursing skills, and humor eased her as well as us. He continued checking on elderly friends, making visits to them well into his 80's. Taking care of others was what he did and he did it so well! He was devoted to his cousins and those he loved, and handled his illness as only he would, making plans and taking care of things so he would not burden others. But it was not a burden to visit him at Castle Point VA, and his cousins showed him this, as I hope we did. It was to return all the love that he gave. He was a marvelous, intelligent man, with a great heart and humor whose contagious cheer will be sorely missed. He was a model of a life well lived. Thanks to his family for the loving care they gave to him. He is living on in each of you.
June 11, 2014
WE REMEMBER TOMMY AS CHILDREN AND IN LATER YEARS. MARY BROOKS WAS OUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER AND MIM WAS OUR GRANDMOTHERS SISTER 'JENNIE ELLIOTT'. WE SPENT TIME AT THE "FARM". MY NAME IS MARION AND WAS SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT TOMMY, HE SPOKE OF OUR FAMILY MANY TIMES. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM A RELATIVE. 845-454-5504. I HAVE A TWIN SISTER IN NC. CALL ANYTIME. REST IN PEACE TOMMY AND JUNIOR.
Robert Hammond
June 9, 2014
Correction- in my tribute to Tom printed below I incorrectly referred to Bay Pines when I meant to write Castle Point. Bay Pines is a VA facility in Florida near my wife's mother"s home. My apologies .
Robert Hammond
June 9, 2014
Tommy Brooks and my Dad served together in New Guinea with the Navy Seabees during WWII. They formed a friendship that lasted throughout their lives, Tom has been a dear part of our family life since my childhood. His upbeat personality made his periodic visits to our home into memorable high lights. In later years Tom in his compassionate way voluntarily helped to care for my Dad's sister Lillian Emmer which enabled her to stay in her own house in Poughkeepsie for several years after she suffered a debilitating stroke. Later when she was a resident of the Ferncliff Nursing Home Tom selflessly went out of his way to visit her regularly several times a week. He was a gracious, generous, and saintly gentleman. Tom was beloved by everyone in our family as well as by everyone that he cared for professionally in his nursing career. Caring children of his former patients came to visit him at Bay Pines . Tommy always had a way of looking at the bright side of any situation. When faced with his diagnosis he made courageous decisions befitting his stature as the last member of "The Greatest Generation " in our family circle. I never heard him complain during his hospice stay at Bay Pines. We will all deeply and fondly miss him . Our sincere sympathy to Tom's loving and caring cousins and their families . Tom often spoke to us about you. He loved you deeply . Thank you for your wonderful care and support of Tom during his prolonged illness.
Bob Hammond
E.Ruth Sanders
June 9, 2014
Loosing a loved one is never easy but hold on to all your memories and this will keep him alive in your heart. God Bless
Mary Folster
June 8, 2014
My Dear Tio It was my great
honor to be your FIRST MATE!
Your example of caregiving is EXAMPLMANTRY!!
June 8, 2014
My dearest Mary & Fam. I am so deeply saddened for the loss of your Uncle Tom. I know you favored each other & you were very good to him, always remembering the stories you told of him. May you find peace in knowing he knew he was ready & let you know that. I know you will be very sad for a very long time as you were so close with him & he loved you so very much. You were/ARE very lucky to have had him & NOW have him as your GUARDIAN ANGEL. I pray you feel him all around you. I love you Mary. When you are ready in your own time, PLEASE call me. Love, Barbie, Ron & our children.
June 8, 2014
I am deeply saddened by the passing of "Uncle Tom" I only met him a few years ago but instantly knew he was a great man.Even though I didn't see him very often he will be greatly missed.
Ginny Urban
June 7, 2014
I am saddened by the loss of Tom but glad that he is at peace. I only met Tom during his time @ Castle Point but greatly enjoyed visiting with him. I was so inspired by his kindness & courage & will always remember him.
Showing 1 - 28 of 28 results
Make a Donation
in Thomas Brooks's name
Memorial Events
for Thomas Brooks
Funeral services provided by:
Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home, Inc.371 Hooker Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
How to support Thomas's loved ones
Honor a beloved veteran with a special tribute of ‘Taps’ at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?
What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreResources to help you cope with loss
Estate Settlement Guide
If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read more
The Five Stages of Grief
They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.
Read moreWays to honor Thomas Brooks's life and legacy
Obituary Examples
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
Obituary Templates – Customizable Examples and Samples
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more
