Robert "Book" Brooks Booker

It was a wonderful day in Richmond, Virginia for Julia Pearl and Robert Dupont Booker, when their second son Robert Brooks “Book” Booker came into this world on July 14, 1947. Little did they know he would one day become a father, best friend, engineer, businessman and true game changer in life and work. He attended Lawson Elementary School and spent his early years in the fields of the historic farming community of Newtown, VA, where he grew up working alongside his parents, older brother Richard and local farmers picking peas for 32 cents a bushel. When he was not picking peas, he would spend 10-hour days on the tractor in a dusty field tilling soil for $4/day. As a teenager he got to spend at least two weeks of the summer with his family in New Jersey and Philadelphia to experience the city life. Book had a knack for mathematics and after graduating from Central High School as salutatorian He attended Howard University (HU), Washington, D.C., fulfilling his and his parents’ dream to pursue a college degree. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1968, was elected president of the Civil Engineering Society for Professional Engineering at HU and later earned his Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering at The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Computers were fast becoming a rising industry during the 70s. This piqued Book’s interest and he learned how to code, which complimented his brilliance in mathematics. As a result, once he graduated from the university the stars aligned for him to start working for IBM. This was a springboard for him to see and experience the world and other cultures. During his 22-year tenure at IBM he served in a series of progressive positions in systems engineering, marketing, product management, and strategy development, and straightaway he was assigned to the FBI, State Department and subsequently the CIA. While at IBM he relocated to Washington, D.C., New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Texas. When he retired from IBM, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to work for Crestar Bank and subsequently SunTrust Bank, which acquired Crestar, where he served as SVP, Business and Technology Solutions, Retail Division. After retiring from SunTrust, he was called out of retirement to serve as a SVP at JP Morgan Chase, Arlington, TX. In 2013 he finally retired to The Villages, FL. While Book was captivating and super personable, it was his deep-seated faith, values, community outreach, extensive devotion to the less fortunate, and desire to help shape the course of people’s lives that fueled him. He was a magnanimous force for good and believed in living his best life daily. Since residing at The Villages, FL, Book has continued his journey of adventures. Even though he was an avid basketball fan, he later learned and loved to golf, scuba dive, play the piano, and ride Segways. He gave time back to his community by coaching little league basketball in the early 80s to serving as a Treasurer and President of the African American Club of The Villages. Book was also an active member of the Sophisticated Gents and the Scuba Diving Club. Through the African American Club sponsorship, he produced three sold-out performances of the first-ever off-Broadway play The Green Book. This is the story of a guide originally published in 1936 called the Green Book, which provided African Americans with advice on safe places to eat and sleep in the Deep South for nearly 30 years. Reflecting on Book’s life for this occasion, from working on a dusty farm in Virginia to forging cutting edge change at Fortune 500 companies, he lived the philosophy that knowing is not enough, you must apply that knowledge. He had a long adventurous bucket list, most of which he was blessed to fulfill, and he traveled to all 50 states, over 78 countries and six continents. He was a voracious reader of history books, reading more than 2000 books. Book is synonymous with living his best life now, charisma, class, endless invention and timeless wisdom. Mark Twain once said: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Book experienced a well-lived life. He lived his best life. He lived it his way. Despite the many professional accomplishments, milestones, and bucket-list items he achieved, Book most cherished his family and friends. Book leaves to cherish his memory, his loving and devoted wife Wendy; daughter Dr. Sydney Savion; son Robert Jerel Booker; daughter-in-law Leslie Booker; grandson Robert McCoy Booker; granddaughter Haviland Elise Booker; stepson Mark Yacklon; step-grandson Isaaik Yacklon; brother and sister-in-law Richard and Cynthia Booker; nephew Reginald Booker; niece Andrea Evans; father-in-law and mother-in-law Horace and Juanita Poulston; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Petie and Linda Poulston; best friends Frank and Patricia Claybrooks; along with a host of cousins, extended family and friends. Celebration of Life is scheduled Monday, November 5, 2018 2:00 PM at HIERS-BAXLEY Funeral & Cremation Life Event Center, 3975 Wedgewood Lane, The Villages, FL 32162. Sentiments may be left online at www.hiers-baxley.com.