George Brooks

George B. Brooks, 97, passed away at home on Wednesday, July 31, 2019. He was born October 3, 1921 in Garnerville, NY, the son of Thomas and Minnie Brooks. He was a veteran of WWII and served in the US Army in the Pacific from 1942 – 1946 where he was wounded receiving a Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars and two US Presidential Citations (Okinawa and Leyte). In 1946 he went to Illinois Institute of Technology where he graduated in Electrical Engineering in 1949. Later in life he received his MBA from Western Michigan University. On December 28, 1949 he was united in marriage to Mary Perini in Garnerville, NY and they celebrated 69 years of a strong devoted marriage. In 1949 George and Mary moved to Kalamazoo to work at Consumers Power as an electrical engineer for 18 years. He then worked at Trend Associates for 19 years in electrical engineering design. He attended First Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo serving on many committees. He was a life member the DAV, past president of the Kalamazoo Engineering Society, a twenty nine year member of SPEBSQSA a barbershop quartet organization. George enjoyed singing in barbershop quartets, golfing and bridge in his retirement years. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister and two brothers. He is survived by his wife Mary, his son Jeffrey and grandson Jonathan as well as former daughter-in-law Mary Ellen. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 15, at 11:00 AM at the First Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo with burial to follow at Fort Custer National Cemetery at 2:30PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Southwest Michigan or First Presbyterian Church of Kalamazoo.