Henry Palmer Brooks Sr.

BROOKS, Henry Palmer Sr., 79, of Tampa, passed away Tuesday, July 7, 2009. Born in Atlanta, Ga., the youngest of three sons born to William and Eunice Palmer Brooks, he attended public schools in Dothan, Ala. He was an Eagle Scout. Henry enrolled in Emory at Oxford, and later graduated from Auburn University with a music major in voice. In 1950, Palmer enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served four years in the Hospital Corps, including two years on a destroyer and two years at the Pensacola Naval Hospital. Palmer married Barbara Ann Caruthers of Bushnell, Fla., March 30, 1952. Following Palmer' s service in the Navy, where he rose to the rank of First Class Petty Officer, Palmer enrolled in the School of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University, where he graduated with his Doctorate degree in 1959. Palmer and Barbara, along with their four children, moved to Tampa to begin his veterinary practice, which concentrated on both large and small animals, as well as zoo and circus animals. Palmer will be remembered for his great storytelling as well as his care and expertise in treating all animals. He is survived by four children, Sharon Brooks Dicks, Henry Palmer Brooks Jr., Bonnalee Brooks Jones and Joseph Roy Brooks, as well as seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service in his honor will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 11, at the Forest Hills United Methodist Church, 904 W. Linebaugh Ave., Tampa. Visitation with the family will begin one hour before in the Church Fellowship Hall, Graveside services will take place at 1 p.m. at Bushnell Evergreen Cemetery, 503 E. Noble Ave., Bushnell, Fla. In lieu of flowers, family members request donations in his memory be sent to the Forest Hills United Methodist Church. Arrangements have been entrusted to Purcell Funeral Home.