Thomas Everett Brooks, 76, died on November 5, 2016, at Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland, following a heart attack at his home in West Laurel, Maryland. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Dorothy (Broaddus) Brooks, daughters Kathleen Brooks Ratcliffe and Kimberly Brooks Baker, sons-in-law Michael Ratcliffe and Scott Baker, grandsons Zachary, Dylan, and Harrison Ratcliffe and Grant Baker, and granddaughter, Grace Baker. Tom was born, June 18, 1940 in Washington, District of Columbia, to William Edward and Margaret (Meador) Brooks. His younger sister, Barbara Ruth Brooks, preceded him in death. He married Dorothy Ann Broaddus on August 13, 1961, in Washington, DC. Tom and Dottie moved to West Laurel in 1968, where they raised their daughters, Kathy and Kim. In retirement, Tom and Dottie divided their time between their home in West Laurel and their cottage on the Potomac River in Coles Point, Virginia.
As a young man, he followed his father into banking, spending most of his career with Riggs Bank, where he eventually rose to Assistant Vice-President. He left Riggs in 1982, but continued in banking as a Vice-President with Peoples Security Bank and with Citizens Bank of Maryland, from which he retired.
Perhaps befitting a banker, Tom was an avid collector of coins as well as stamps. He also was an old car enthusiast and aficionado, with an ability to identify the make, model, and year of almost any car. Tom also was an avid motorcyclist, owning a wide variety of bikes from the time he was in high school. He made a solo motorcycle trip across the United States. He bought his last motorcycle—a Honda Valkyrie—in 2000 and, until the last year, when his health began to decline, enjoyed riding it along backroads of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Tom was an avid boater, owning several boats over the years with Dottie. He was always happy to take family and friends out fishing, water skiing, or simply running up and down the Potomac. Many of his family’s memories will be of Tom at the wheel of Scaramouche, his 29-foot Seahawk. Tom’s love of boats can also be seen in his and Dottie’s many cruises around the Caribbean, often with their friends. One could say he was at home on the water, whether on the Potomac, from the time he was a boy at his grandfather’s cottage in Coles Point (with his cousins Frank and John Hale), on his boats, or vacationing at Daytona Beach, Ocean City, or the Outer Banks with his family.
Tom was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, cousin, and uncle. The Coles Point cottage was a gathering place for family and friends each summer. He maintained a vintage Coke machine from the 1930s, fully-stocked, with dimes on hand for his grandchildren and others to use anytime they wanted a drink. The holiday season always brought out his vintage Lionel trains and accessories for the grandkids to operate. Family and friends will remember his sense of humor, his ability to tell tall-tales with a straight face, leaving you wondering whether they were true. And, as many knew, he was open, warm-hearted, and immensely likable—the kind of person with whom you wanted to spend time, fishing, crabbing, watching his favorite Washington Redskins or Washington Nationals, or simply puttering around the house or cottage, as he liked to do, working on small projects.
Tom Brooks leaves a large extended family and a wide circle of friends who will spend many hours and days recounting memories of a life well-lived. Memorial contributions may be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
As a young man, he followed his father into banking, spending most of his career with Riggs Bank, where he eventually rose to Assistant Vice-President. He left Riggs in 1982, but continued in banking as a Vice-President with Peoples Security Bank and with Citizens Bank of Maryland, from which he retired.
Perhaps befitting a banker, Tom was an avid collector of coins as well as stamps. He also was an old car enthusiast and aficionado, with an ability to identify the make, model, and year of almost any car. Tom also was an avid motorcyclist, owning a wide variety of bikes from the time he was in high school. He made a solo motorcycle trip across the United States. He bought his last motorcycle—a Honda Valkyrie—in 2000 and, until the last year, when his health began to decline, enjoyed riding it along backroads of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Tom was an avid boater, owning several boats over the years with Dottie. He was always happy to take family and friends out fishing, water skiing, or simply running up and down the Potomac. Many of his family’s memories will be of Tom at the wheel of Scaramouche, his 29-foot Seahawk. Tom’s love of boats can also be seen in his and Dottie’s many cruises around the Caribbean, often with their friends. One could say he was at home on the water, whether on the Potomac, from the time he was a boy at his grandfather’s cottage in Coles Point (with his cousins Frank and John Hale), on his boats, or vacationing at Daytona Beach, Ocean City, or the Outer Banks with his family.
Tom was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, cousin, and uncle. The Coles Point cottage was a gathering place for family and friends each summer. He maintained a vintage Coke machine from the 1930s, fully-stocked, with dimes on hand for his grandchildren and others to use anytime they wanted a drink. The holiday season always brought out his vintage Lionel trains and accessories for the grandkids to operate. Family and friends will remember his sense of humor, his ability to tell tall-tales with a straight face, leaving you wondering whether they were true. And, as many knew, he was open, warm-hearted, and immensely likable—the kind of person with whom you wanted to spend time, fishing, crabbing, watching his favorite Washington Redskins or Washington Nationals, or simply puttering around the house or cottage, as he liked to do, working on small projects.
Tom Brooks leaves a large extended family and a wide circle of friends who will spend many hours and days recounting memories of a life well-lived. Memorial contributions may be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Thomas Everett Brooks, 76, died on November 5, 2016, at Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland, following a heart attack at his home in West Laurel, Maryland. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Dorothy (Broaddus) Brooks, daughters Kathleen Brooks Ratcliffe and Kimberly Brooks Baker, sons-in-law Michael Ratcliffe and Scott Baker, grandsons Zachary, Dylan, and Harrison Ratcliffe and Grant Baker, and granddaughter, Grace Baker. Tom was born, June 18, 1940 in Washington, District of Columbia, to William Edward and Margaret (Meador) Brooks. His younger sister, Barbara Ruth Brooks, preceded him in death. He married Dorothy Ann Broaddus on August 13, 1961, in Washington, DC. Tom and Dottie moved to West Laurel in 1968, where they raised their daughters, Kathy and Kim. In retirement, Tom and Dottie divided their time between their home in West Laurel and their cottage on the Potomac River in Coles Point, Virginia.
As a young man, he followed his father into banking, spending most of his career with Riggs Bank, where he eventually rose to Assistant Vice-President. He left Riggs in 1982, but continued in banking as a Vice-President with Peoples Security Bank and with Citizens Bank of Maryland, from which he retired.
Perhaps befitting a banker, Tom was an avid collector of coins as well as stamps. He also was an old car enthusiast and aficionado, with an ability to identify the make, model, and year of almost any car. Tom also was an avid motorcyclist, owning a wide variety of bikes from the time he was in high school. He made a solo motorcycle trip across the United States. He bought his last motorcycle—a Honda Valkyrie—in 2000 and, until the last year, when his health began to decline, enjoyed riding it along backroads of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Tom was an avid boater, owning several boats over the years with Dottie. He was always happy to take family and friends out fishing, water skiing, or simply running up and down the Potomac. Many of his family’s memories will be of Tom at the wheel of Scaramouche, his 29-foot Seahawk. Tom’s love of boats can also be seen in his and Dottie’s many cruises around the Caribbean, often with their friends. One could say he was at home on the water, whether on the Potomac, from the time he was a boy at his grandfather’s cottage in Coles Point (with his cousins Frank and John Hale), on his boats, or vacationing at Daytona Beach, Ocean City, or the Outer Banks with his family.
Tom was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, cousin, and uncle. The Coles Point cottage was a gathering place for family and friends each summer. He maintained a vintage Coke machine from the 1930s, fully-stocked, with dimes on hand for his grandchildren and others to use anytime they wanted a drink. The holiday season always brought out his vintage Lionel trains and accessories for the grandkids to operate. Family and friends will remember his sense of humor, his ability to tell tall-tales with a straight face, leaving you wondering whether they were true. And, as many knew, he was open, warm-hearted, and immensely likable—the kind of person with whom you wanted to spend time, fishing, crabbing, watching his favorite Washington Redskins or Washington Nationals, or simply puttering around the house or cottage, as he liked to do, working on small projects.
Tom Brooks leaves a large extended family and a wide circle of friends who will spend many hours and days recounting memories of a life well-lived. Memorial contributions may be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
As a young man, he followed his father into banking, spending most of his career with Riggs Bank, where he eventually rose to Assistant Vice-President. He left Riggs in 1982, but continued in banking as a Vice-President with Peoples Security Bank and with Citizens Bank of Maryland, from which he retired.
Perhaps befitting a banker, Tom was an avid collector of coins as well as stamps. He also was an old car enthusiast and aficionado, with an ability to identify the make, model, and year of almost any car. Tom also was an avid motorcyclist, owning a wide variety of bikes from the time he was in high school. He made a solo motorcycle trip across the United States. He bought his last motorcycle—a Honda Valkyrie—in 2000 and, until the last year, when his health began to decline, enjoyed riding it along backroads of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Tom was an avid boater, owning several boats over the years with Dottie. He was always happy to take family and friends out fishing, water skiing, or simply running up and down the Potomac. Many of his family’s memories will be of Tom at the wheel of Scaramouche, his 29-foot Seahawk. Tom’s love of boats can also be seen in his and Dottie’s many cruises around the Caribbean, often with their friends. One could say he was at home on the water, whether on the Potomac, from the time he was a boy at his grandfather’s cottage in Coles Point (with his cousins Frank and John Hale), on his boats, or vacationing at Daytona Beach, Ocean City, or the Outer Banks with his family.
Tom was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, cousin, and uncle. The Coles Point cottage was a gathering place for family and friends each summer. He maintained a vintage Coke machine from the 1930s, fully-stocked, with dimes on hand for his grandchildren and others to use anytime they wanted a drink. The holiday season always brought out his vintage Lionel trains and accessories for the grandkids to operate. Family and friends will remember his sense of humor, his ability to tell tall-tales with a straight face, leaving you wondering whether they were true. And, as many knew, he was open, warm-hearted, and immensely likable—the kind of person with whom you wanted to spend time, fishing, crabbing, watching his favorite Washington Redskins or Washington Nationals, or simply puttering around the house or cottage, as he liked to do, working on small projects.
Tom Brooks leaves a large extended family and a wide circle of friends who will spend many hours and days recounting memories of a life well-lived. Memorial contributions may be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
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