I don’t have much to say about this, except that Lisa & I will miss you Terry.

 

Terence Ezra Brooks.

April 25, 1922 - March 25, 2007

On behalf of my brothers and sisters, and our extended family, I’d like to welcome everyone who is here today to share this occasion and to celebrate the life of our Dad.

I’d also like to thank the vicar Ms Atherfold and everyone here at St. John’s Church, and Mr. Cadman and his staff from Fletcher & Sons for making the arrangements and for coordinating everything so efficiently.

I’d also like to acknowledge the staff at Goole Hospital who cared for our Dad during his last few days and the numerous family and friends who visited and spent time with him. I am told he passed away peacefully and
comfortably, which brings me great relief and reassurance.

I’d also like to make special mention of my sister Moira and my Aunt Betty who were instrumental in ensuring that this occasion would unfold in a way we will all remember fondly.

For me and I’m sure for all of us, the last week or so has been a time of reflection and contemplation about the meaning of life and about what we might hope to achieve in our own lifetimes. I’ve been thinking about our
Dad’s life and about his achievements and about the impact he had on his family his friends and his community, and about the legacy he leaves behind which will live on in our lives.

Terry Brooks was many things but for me the phrase that best sums up the kind of man he was and the constant theme that runs through his life is Terry Brooks the builder.

As a young man, Terry Brooks was an outstanding athlete. Not long before the moment in history when Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile, our Dad was crossing the finishing line not too many seconds after that.

The first thing he built in his life was a reputation as a runner of exceptional ability, an achievement requiring courage, dedication and ambition. That legacy lives on today in the lives of other family members who have enjoyed significant success in the field of athletic achievement. When I hear of my niece Jane completing another marathon in around three hours I think of our Dad and the stories he would tell which would inspire us all.

After the war he joined his Dad, our Grandad Ted, in his building business and it wasn’t too long before he began to build his own business. From roof repairs and new fireplaces he moved on to a complete house and before long, several more houses and eventually many houses. Many of us have driven around Goole with our Dad and he would point and say, “Me and your uncle Morris built that one there, and the one around the corner where so and so lives”.

I grew up in houses that my Dad built. My grandparents and uncles lived next door, my Auntie Irene, Uncle Cliff, Phil & Howard lived around the corner, and Auntie Betty, Uncle Brian and Gary lived opposite them. At various times my uncles Keith, John, Colin, Morris, Brian, Cliff all helped to build these houses and the bond of achievement was evident. Terry Brooks the builder was building his livelihood, his reputation, and security for his family and friends.

A number of willing, hardworking young men were employed in this endeavour, some of them, by no coincidence had a particular talent on the football field. The tradition of Goole United FC was born and grew under my Dad¹s
guidance. Not surprisingly, one football team was never going to be enough for Terry Brooks. I don’t know how many variations of Goole United existed in different age groups and geographical areas. I do know however that the trophies were significant in number and I can recall the individual successes of people such as John Kaye, Willie Waites, Dave Levison, and of course his youngest brother John Brooks. Looking back it seems evident to me however that I don’t think our Dad did it for the trophies or the glory. To hear him talk with obvious pride about the ferocious tackling of Brian Pike, that nobody had a left-foot like my uncle Keith, that nobody could catch Dave Ullathorne on the wing, and nobody could trap and pass a ball like Alan Wimsey. I’m not certain about the accuracy of my recollections of these stories, but I am sure that as a child growing up they fuelled the imagination, and spurred me and many others towards our own sporting achievements. I was surrounded by and immersed in stories about Goole United, like the time uncle Cliff drove the team to a fixture and they got there with only five minutes to spare and the lads had to get changed in the bus. Or the way that nobody stayed injured for long when trainer Ted ran on the pitch with his sponge and bucket of cold water.

Goole United was more than a football team. It was a family built by Terry Brooks.

Twenty years later, anyone who was present would never forget the look on our Dad’s face and the one time in his life that he was truly speechless, when his brothers and family organised the event fondly remembered as his
‘This Is Your Life’. Our Dad walked into the Vikings Hotel for what he thought would be a quiet, intimate birthday gathering and more than a hundred people rose to their feet and applauded his entrance, demonstrating their affection, admiration and respect for the joy and camaraderie he brought to their lives during the Goole United years. So then he took his family to Scarborough where he bought a hotel. But do
you think one hotel was enough? No. Before long he bought the one next door, and eventually the one next door to that. The building continued. Extensions, chalets, dormer windows, and a balcony from which he could see
over the wall into the cricket ground to watch Geoff Boycott and ‘Fiery’ Fred Truman ply their trade.

I know many of you enjoyed holidays at the Iona Hotel and remember the hilarious parties on Thursday nights and the guest soccer matches at the local playing field. The convoy of cars filled with enthusiastic combatants.
And of course the stories afterwards. Terry Brooks found a way to build on his successes. He didn’t have to
organise these extra activities, but he wanted to. He seemed to get a sense of satisfaction out of seeing other people enjoy life and he strived to make it happen.

Not longer after moving to Scarborough, he turned his considerable energy and enthusiasm to ballroom dancing. Most would be satisfied with becoming a good dancer, not Terry Brooks. This ‘Building Project’ developed into
competitive dancing, he became a competition adjudicator and later an examiner, and eventually he operated his own successful dance school. When I hear that our brother Tim is now a professional dance teacher in New York
and that my sister Lisa and her fiance Steve are competing at a very high standard I think of our Dad and the part he played in that process, the joy and success he helped them achieve and the immense feeling of pride this
gave him. I vividly remember stories about dance students who attained the gold bar standard in Latin American or silver in Old Time.

Terry Brooks the builder built more than houses he built a livelihood, he built a football dynasty, he built a dance school, but throughout it all he built a reputation. He was a teacher, he was a leader, and he was man with boundless energy and enthusiasm for life. He had the imagination to dream big dreams, he had the courage to pursue these dreams, he had the fortitude to stick at it, and the determination to overcome obstacles, which might get in the way.

His joy was reflected in the joy of those who knew him. He had a way of making you feel that you could achieve similar successes and he would stand by you just in case you needed support along the way. He had a talent for creating and maintaining relationships and for coordinating groups of people to help them realise their dreams too, and you never doubted whether he cared for you, because his actions proved it beyond words.

I’m proud to recognise and acknowledge the way that our Dad touched my life, and the lives of so many family members, and so many others who met him and knew him.

He was not the perfect man, but he was a remarkable man. His legacy lives on in me and my children, my brothers and sisters, and their children and my aunts and uncles and their families and everyone else that knew him.

In closing I’d like to mention some family members who sadly can’t be with us today, our Dad’s brother Morris, who is unwell ­ we all wish him a speedy recovery, our beloved sister Sandra, and our Uncle’s Cliff and John who all meant a great deal to our Dad.

Today we all came together to celebrate his life. Thank you for being here I’m certain he would have delighted to see you all.

- Eulogy Read Out By Terry Brooks Jr