Marvin B. Brooks M.H.A. M.D.

1938 - 2013

Marvin B. Brooks, M.D., M.H.A. passed away peacefully on June 30, 2013 at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. Dr. Brooks, 75, was born on February 1, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois to Sidney and Sara Brooks. Dr. Brooks graduated from Chicago's Roosevelt High School in 1956. He attended the Illinois Institute of Technology studying chemical engineering. As he was entering his senior year, Dr. Brooks felt a calling to become a physician. He entered the University of Illinois College of Medicine where during his sophomore year, he met a nursing major, named Sally. They graduated together in 1963 and were married four months later. Dr. Brooks completed residencies in general surgery at UCLA-VA Medical Center in 1965 and in urology at Yale University Medical Center in 1968. In 1996, he earned an MBA in health administration from the University of Colorado. Following residency, from 1968 until 1970, Dr. Brooks served in the United States Air Force as a major and chief of urology at the United States Air Force Academy Hospital near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dr. Brooks began his professional career as an attending urologist and eventually became chief of surgery at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. During this time, he was one of five physicians invited to serve on a planning committee prior to the construction of the new Eisenhower Medical Center. In 1971, he became a founding physician, worked as a senior attending physician, including two years as president of the medical staff, achieving emeritus status in 2011. Dr. Brooks served on Eisenhower Medical Center's Board of Trustees from 1971 until his death. His honors included listing in "Top Doctors in America," president of Eisenhower medical staff (1994-1996) and Eisenhower Physician of the Year (2001). During Dr. Brooks' career, he held academic medical appointments as instructor in urology at Yale University, and as assistant clinical professor of urology at University of California, San Diego. He was clinical investigator for several trials involving pharmaceutical and medical devices to treat impotence. He is published in academic medical journals in the fields of urology, oncology and dermatology. Together with his wife, Sally West Brooks, he authored "Lifelong Sexual Vigor: How to Avoid and Overcome Impotence" (1982) and "Lifelong Lover" (1985), published by Doubleday and Company. Dr. Brooks' intellectual curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning produced two inventions. His first invention was the Brooks Corporal Dilator, used worldwide to treat impotence. His second invention is a patent for small molecule compounds targeting inflammatory conditions, which he discovered shortly after his diagnosis of cancer in 2011. Dr. Brooks is survived by his wife of 50 years, Sarah (Sally) West Brooks, of Palm Springs, Calif., son Michael West Brooks of Palm Springs, Calif., daughter Stephanie Brooks Pickering (Jeffrey) of Bakersfield, Calif., and grandchildren Colin, Olivia and a baby boy on the way. He is also survived by his brother Ira Brooks of Florida, and was predeceased by his parents and brother, Norman Brooks. A private funeral service for the family will be held on Wednesday, July 3. Friends and colleagues are invited to a Celebration of Life on Monday, July 8 at 5:00 PM, Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower, 39000 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, California. In lieu of flowers, the family invites charitable contributions to Eisenhower Medical Center or the American Cancer Society.

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