Robert Duane Brooke

As you all know, Bob did not have any problem speaking in front of a crowd, unlike me, so I like the technology that lets me talk to a crowd without standing in front of them. Bob , age 70 passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Born in Tacoma, WA. He is survived by myself, daughter, Julie Brooke, son Stephen Brooke, daughter-in-law Kimberley, granddaughters Elise, Taylor, and Alexandra (Lexi). Preceded in death by his father J. Robert Brooke, M.D., mother Ruth M (Whitten) Brooke. In his early years he was a drummer, dance instructor, DJ, and fisherman. He worked for a boat builder as a marine electrician, had a house moved and remodeled it, and retired as an electrical contractor, specializing in electrical remodeling, which he described it as being president and janitor and everything in between. Bob also served in the U.S. Navy from August 1961 - August 1963. He spent hours as a volunteer for the Pierce County Chapter Back Country Horsemen organization as vice president for one year, president for 3 years, as well as being the Legislative Chair, and parliamentarian for BCH of Wash. There is a tremendous emptiness in my being right now, that I could not ever describe. I know others have experienced the same and know what I am speaking of. I know I will miss Bob forever as many of you will. I will draw on faith and know that Jesus is watching over us. He always thought of others before thinking of himself and if there was a joke to be told, a lot of times it was done at his own expense. He got the biggest bang out of making someone laugh, a lot of times it was someone he did not even know. He treated all of his family with great respect and I was always impressed by how he treated his mother. While working for Tacoma Boat, a very heavy reel of wire got away and was rolling towards a co-worker that did not see it coming. He used his strength to turn that reel so that it would miss the man,and as a result has had severe back problems ever since. That was the kind of guy he was. If there was a fault, it would be procrastinating. Some of his favorite sayings were “I’ll do it in the morning”, I’ll do tomorrow what I should do today” and the most used was “Tomorrow is my favorite day” Even then he was always ready to help me and dropped what he was doing to assist. When I met him, he knew very little about horses, except that one ate his hat when he was a young person. He grew to love the animal and was always consistent in convincing our horses to do what he wanted them to do, and he usually won with gentleness. He liked the way, the clinician, Clinton Anderson taught and bought all his tapes. I admired him for his positive outlook on life, even though he knew he was seriously ill. He told his granddaughters his biggest regret was that he would not see them grow up. His last wishes was that he could see his children and grandchildren, so we were able to travel to Colorado in March and again in June. His wish was that we should have a happy time when he was gone, so that is what we intend to do! I know it was because of him that there were numerous people that came to help me get ready to move in three weeks and clean up after the estate sale. I cannot express how grateful I am for all the help. Celebration of life Saturday, November 9th, 2013 3:00PM at Frontier Park, 21800 S Meridian, Graham, WA 98338. Catered reception following Please send donations in Bobs name to: Back Country Horseman of Washington 110 West 6th Ave. PMB393 Ellensburg, WA. 98929 Joy Erickson