B.V. "Dexter" Brooks

B.V. (Dexter) Brooks of Westport, CT died Wednesday, August 31st, two days before his 85th birthday at AmeriMed Hospital in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico of a heart attack. Three days earlier he had suffered a first heart attack while on a cruise ship out of San Francisco bound for New York City. Although he rallied after treatment at AmeriMed, the second attack was fatal.

Brooks was born in New York City on September 2, 1926, the only child of Babert Vincent Brooks, Sr. and Florence Goodwin Brooks. He grew up in Coral Gables, Florida and lived in Beverly Hills, CA for a short time before the family settled in Westport in 1941. Graduating from Staples High School in 1942 at the age of 15, he went to Deerfield Academy for a post-grad year before entering Dartmouth College in 1943. During WW II he spent 3 years at Kings Point Maritime Academy and saw sea duty as a Junior Officer on merchant marine ships in the North Atlantic and South Pacific. Returning to Dartmouth he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1947. He then obtained an M.B.A with distinction at Tuck School in 1949.

Starting his business career as an investment banker in Boston, he then moved to NYC as a security analyst with Value Line Investment Advisors for 5 years before joining Booz, Allen & Hamilton (worldwide management consultants). Following that he was Chief Financial Officer of two diversified national corporations.

Upon the illness of his father In the early 1960's Brooks came back to Westport, CT to join his father in the family real estate firm, Brooks, Inc. The company had already developed Westfair Shopping Center, Westfair Village (the first postwar housing for beneficiaries of the GI bill), and Compo Shopping Center. Their last project together was Brooks Corner on Main Street, Westport in 1963. Upon the death of his father in 1967 Brooks, Jr. changed the name of the company to Brooks, Torrey and Scott, Inc. and went on to purchase and develop commercial real estate in New York state, other locations in Connecticut and St. Croix, V.I.

In 1964 Brooks and his parents launched the Westport News. Following its success, Dexter Brooks served for 35 years as Chairman of Brooks Community Newspapers and Publisher of eight award-winning newspapers in Fairfield County, CT. He was particularly proud when the Westport News won a national press award as the best community newspaper in America in the early 1990s. He sold the newspaper group in 1999 to Thomson Newspaper Group of Canada.

The Brooks family also owned Westport Travel Service, Inc. from 1963 until 1992 when it was sold.

Brooks was pleased to be a Trustee of Norwalk Hospital and the University of Bridgeport for many years. He was a former Chairman of the American Institute for Economic Research and a trustee of the Media Research Center in Washington, D.C. among other interests. Locally, he and his wife were “first family” supporters of Near and Far Aid and benefactors of Westport Library's “Booked for the Evening” event each year.

Mr. Brooks was an enthusiastic and life-long tennis player, sailor and skier until his early 80s. In recent years he took up the hobby of creating crossword puzzles and he self-published two books of puzzles which he gave to friends for their amusement. He was working on the third book at the time of his death.

He was a long-time member of Riverside Yacht Club in Greenwich and the Yale/Dartmouth Club in NYC.

Although he never officially retired, he and his wife traveled worldwide leaving the real estate business in the capable hands of his two sons. His wife, Kay said “He loved life and exuded a joie de vivre which is the way I would like people to remember him”.

In addition to his wife of 25 years, the former Kathryn Frazer, he is survived by two sons, Torrey Brooks (wife Marcia) of Weston; Scott Brooks (wife Anastasia) of Westport; a daughter, Wendy Harris (husband Dak) of Weston; a stepdaughter, Lori Frazer (husband Christopher Lyman) of Searsmont, Maine; and a stepson, Marc Frazer (wife Megan) of Seattle, WA. He is also survived by three grandsons, Brody, Brandon and Julian Brooks and three granddaughters, Madeleine Harris and Kaila and Kathryn Frazer.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association or a charity of your choice.

A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, September 18th from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Westport Woman's Club on Imperial Avenue, Westport. All are welcome.