Joseph Gerald Brooks, 77

Joseph Gerald Brooks, 77, passed to eternal life on April 4, 2022, with his beloved daughter, Cindy, at his side holding his hand.

Joe was born the 10th child of Perry Eugene and Mabel Bell Brooks on Sept. 30, 1944, in Portland, Ore., where his parents had temporarily relocated to work in the shipyards supporting America’s war effort. When World War II ended, the family returned to the beautiful Mission Valley, where Joe spent his childhood exploring every creek, river, forest and mountain and developed hunting and fishing skills critical to his family’s survival.

Joe graduated in 1962 from Ronan High School, where he was a star football player. There, he met Nancy Collins, and his plans of college and playing Grizzly football were replaced by the hopes and dreams of a young husband and father. His son, Joe Brooks Jr., was born in 1963, and to support his family Joe volunteered for wartime service in Vietnam. He served in the Army’s 1st Aviation Brigade of the 11th Air Group of the 57th Aviation Company. If it had wings or a rotor, Joe could fly it, but he primarily piloted the De Havilland CV-2 Caribou Fixed Wing as part of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam. He logged more than 1,000 combat flight hours and exhibited tenacity and courage in unimaginable conditions.

Upon completing his tour of duty in Vietnam, the Army assigned Joe to Fort Rucker, Alabama, to serve as a flight instructor. There, his daughter, Cindy Brooks, was born in 1967. Joe often reflected about the moment he met Cindy: how she opened her big eyes, looked innocently at her war-weary father, and the two became best friends for life.

After completing his military service with numerous honors, including the Army Commendation Medal for sustained acts of heroism, Joe returned to Ronan and built his family a beautiful home in the foothills of the Mission Mountains, complete with a backyard pond where his kids kept their pet ducks. In addition to working as the Ronan city foreman and serving on the Ronan City Commission and Lake County Joint Airport Board, Joe embarked on a lifetime of successful entrepreneurial initiatives, building numerous restaurants, subdivisions, Joe’s Conoco, the Ronan-Pablo Cable TV Co. and Ronan Power Products. He parlayed these successes into the purchase of what became the JBar4 Ranch, including the homestead where his parents lived during the Great Depression. He was a devoted conservationist and implemented an easement on the ranch dedicated to protecting pheasant and wetland habitat and the trout fishery in Mud Creek.

Over the course of those years, Joe and Nancy grew apart and divorced.

Joe was later blessed to meet Loretta Shima and become stepfather to her children, Shelly and Shane. Joe and Loretta nurtured one another’s Christian faith while enjoying a loving marriage for 40 years. They shared a special bond that inspired everyone around them.

Joe was the last of his generation, something upon which he nostalgically reflected with longing for those who passed before him, including his parents, Gene and Mabel Brooks, and his nine older siblings, Loyal (Frances), Jack, John, and Bob Brooks, and Dorothy (Francis) Griffey, Ruth (Leonard) Hawk, Glen (Earl) Grotjohn, Della Bauer and Pat Krahn. We have no doubt that there is lots of joke-telling occurring in heaven right now, with howls of laughter from the Brooks clan as they embrace their baby brother who finally made it home.

Joe is survived by his wife, Loretta; children Joe Brooks Jr., Cindy (Lance) Melton, Shelly (Larry) Cordis, and Shane (Carissa) Shima; Jennifer (Kevin) Fortney; grandchildren Bobbi and Samantha Brooks, Isabelle Melton, Riley (Ashley) and Rachel Cordis, and Hunter (Lauren), Fisher and Skyler Shima; great-grandchildren Ben, Alice, Aiyana, Kiara and Hudson; sisters-in-law Ellen, Clarice and Kathryn Brooks; brothers-in-law Marvin Bauer and Larry Krahn; and dozens of nieces and nephews who enriched his life and for whom he held great love.

There are no words that can do justice to the beautiful life Joe lived. He was a family man, teaching his children to hunt and fish while instilling the values of hard work, humor, courage, independence, integrity and love. Joe was a voracious reader, with his favorite subjects being the Bible, history and politics. He was self-taught and brilliant, with the ability to discuss and debate any topic in which you were willing to engage. Joe was also generous to a fault and demonstrated an extraordinary work ethic.

We will celebrate Joe’s life with joy at noon, April 23, 2022 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ronan. His ashes will be scattered at his parents’ historic homestead in the same place his brother Bob rests.