Harold Lee "Hal" Brookins

1946 - 2025

West Seattle - Mount Vernon, Washington native and longtime Seattle resident Hal Brookins passed away peacefully on March 12, 2025 in Seattle after a short illness. Hal was born on November 4, 1946, in Mount Vernon to Richard and Ruth Brookins. His sister April joined the family eight years later.

Blessed with intellect, artistic, and physical talents, Hal spent his childhood attending Mount Vernon public schools, where he naturally excelled in sports such as wrestling (heavyweight), football (offensive and defensive tackle and sometimes field goal kicker), and track. In fact, his athletic activity pictures were featured prominently in the trophy displays at the school for many years. He was also an impressive trumpet player in the school band.

After graduating from Mount Vernon High School, Hal went on to study at Washington State University before transferring to the University of Washington, where he earned his BA in Business Administration in 1971. It was during that time (and the Vietnam War) that Hal joined the Washington National Guard where he served in the dental division of the medical reserves.

Outgoing, well-spoken, and intuitive about customers' needs, sales were a natural career fit for Hal. Starting with pharmaceuticals and dental equipment, his early success and drive landed him at Devoss Office Interiors in Seattle in 1976, where he thrived both in sales and sales management for the office furniture company. In late 1981, that experience took him to Herman Miller, Inc., which turned into a 30-year thriving career in sales and sales management serving the government segment at the federal, state, and local level.

After his success at Herman Miller, he joined life-long friend Tim Rosenhan at Innova Kayak in 2012 as sales manager of the inflatable kayak importer and distributor founded by Rosenhan.

Hal retired after 43 years in sales in 2015. With a passion for helping others, he volunteered as a Certified Business Mentor with SCORE Greater Seattle Chapter where he put his valuable experience to work guiding so many on their way up in the business world. He served as chapter chair, was a key member of the leadership team and always a go-to person for important initiatives. He also was the Rainier Branch Manager of SCORE from 2015 until the time of his passing.

Ever action-oriented, Hal balanced his work life with plenty of interesting thrill-seeking outside activities, including climbing Mount Rainier, being the crew chief for lifelong friend Bob Stanley's hydroplane racing events, dirt biking, and organizing numerous motorcycle excursions (Baja, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, etc.) - all of which seemed to end up turning into wilder adventures than expected. On the other end of the spectrum were the many peaceful rounds of golf that Hal enjoyed and injected with his friendly competitive spirit.

Hal's main work/life balance came from the love of his life, Susan. It was Hal's close friend, Dave Loomis, who introduced the two in 1971. It didn't take long at all for Hal to pop the question and they were married. They recently celebrated their 53rd anniversary.

Hal was preceded in death by his parents Richard and Ruth, mother-in-law Jean Barry, father-in-law Jim Barry, and by close friends Dave Loomis, Tim Rosenhan, and Rich Mackie.

Hal is survived by his wife Susan (Barry) Brookins of West Seattle, sister April Brookins Duvic (Greg) of Vancouver, WA, first cousin Flo Ann Harig of Reno, NV, and cousins in Oklahoma and Georgia. Hal is also survived by sister-in-law Diane (Barry) Spelhaug (Larry) of Edmonds, brother-in-law Doug Barry (Kris) of Tualatin, OR, nieces Lorrie Schleg (John) of Issaquah, Keri Cable (Sean) of Bellevue, and nephew Geoff Geis of Tualatin, OR. He is also survived by grand-niece Katherine Schleg, and grand-nephews Clayton Schleg, and Alek and Devin Cable, as well as lifelong Mount Vernon friend Bob Stanley and many other friends.

A celebration of life will be held later in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the SCORE Seattle Chapter in Hal's honor. Please visit https://www.score.org/seattle/about/donate to submit a donation.