In Memory of George G. Brooks (1922 – 2018)

The Rev. George G. Brooks died on June 18, 2018 at the age of 95.

George was born on December 14, 1922 in Pleasantville, NY to parents Leonard Brooks and Irene Huggins Brooks. He graduated from the Amherst College, MA in 1944 with a Bachelor of Arts in Physics, following which he earned his Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA in 1947. He then served as a Ministerial Assistant at the First Church in Boston until 1949. In 1951, George received his Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Harvard Divinity School, MA.

Rev. Brooks was ordained on June 24, 1951 by the UU Church of Danvers, MA where he carried out his ministry from 1949 to 1951. He was then called to the Second Parish Unitarian Church in Saco, ME where he would serve from 1954 until 1957. On September 1957, Rev. Brooks accepted a call from the Adams Memorial Unitarian Church in Dunkirk, NY and ministered to the NY congregation for four years. Over the next three decades, Rev. Brooks executed his Parish ministry at the following congregations: The UU Fellowship at Burlington IA, Burlington IA (1963- 1968); All Souls UU Church, Bellville, OH (1972-1976); the UU Fellowship of the Firelands, Sandusky, OH (1980-1986); the UU Church of Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN (1986-1987); the UU Church, Columbia, MO (1987-1989); and finally at the UU Fellowship of Charlotte County, Port Charlotte, FL (1990-1992). In 2008, the UU Fellowship of Charlotte County, FL honored him their Minister Emeritus.

Rev. Brooks carried out a great deal of service on behalf of the denomination. He served as a member for the Unitarian Minister’s Association from 1953 to 1961, and for the UUMA from 1961. He was the State Youth Advisor for the Liberal Religious Youth in ME from 1955 to 1957, and a Secretary for the Maine Unitarian Association from 1957 to 1958. Rev. Brooks also functioned as a treasurer for the Liberal Religious Peace Fellowship (1955-1957); the U.M.A. Meadville Branch (1959-1961); and the UUMA, Ohio Meadville Chapter (1970-1972).

Throughout his ministry, George served as a strong advocate for mental health and human rights. He was a Director for the Southern Maine Mental Health Association and for the Chautauqua County Mental Health Association. In 1960, he functioned as a Fund Chair for the Lake Shore for Mental Health in the Dunkirk-Fredonia area in NY. Likewise, he served as a Director for the Human Rights Commission in Burlington, IA from 1965 to 1968 and chaired the Commission from 1967 to 1968. From 1968 to 1986, George served as a faculty member in the Science and Math Division of Lorain County Community College in Elyria, OH, teaching physics and astronomy. He also served the Oberlin (Ohio) Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union in various positions: as a director from 1970 to 1980, as Vice-President from 1975 to 1976, as President from 1977 to 1979, and as a State Board member from 1977 to 1979. In his spare time, George enjoyed golf, tennis, swimming, and keeping abreast of the findings in Cosmology, Astronomy, Neutrino Physics and Chaos Theory, and Early Hominids. He was also a dedicated writer. One of his pieces, “The Last Event and Its Picture of God in Contemporary Accents in Liberal Religion” was published by the Beacon Press in 1958.

George is survived by his nieces Miriam E. Coe, Katherine L. Randall, Julie Fix Graves, and Karen Fix Graves; his nephews Edmund A. Jones, Carlton Parker Jones, and Leonard Brooks III; and his several grand nieces, a grandnephew and a great nephew.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the UUA, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210 or to the Star Island Corporation, Morton-Benedict House, 30 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.

A memorial service was held at 2 pm on Saturday, December 29, 2018 at the UU Fellowship of Charlotte County, 1532 Forrest Nelson Blvd., Port Charlotte, FL 33952.
Notes of Condolences may be sent to Edmund A. Jones at 8 Hammond Street, Somerville, MA 02143.

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