William Richard Brooks of Thornton Colorado died February 26, 2022, at Avamere Transitional Care of Malley . He was 89 years of age. Richard was born March 7, 1932, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Walter Kiddle Brooks and Mary Isabella Baxter. He had an older brother, Walter Baxter, and two older sisters Rosa Isabella and Norma Jane. His brother Walt taught him how to ride a bike, fish, and love the outdoors. Richard was known as Dick by his friends. He lived in Salt Lake City and graduated from South High School. He served in the 130th AC&W Squadron while on active duty with the Air Force during the Korean War. It was while serving in Kansas City that he met his future wife, Arvella Sue Jaynes (Sue) at a church young adult activity.
After his military service, he returned to Salt Lake City, Utah. Dick and Sue continued to correspond and eventually Sue moved to Salt Lake City. On May 14, 1954, they were married in the Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dick attended the University of Utah and they had children Karen and William (Bill). IBM recruited Dick while still in college and the family moved to Kingston, New York for training. Their next move was to Kansas City, Missouri, where Janet and Cathleen were born. The family then moved to Saugerties, New York where Stephen was born. Their final move was to Longmont Colorado where David and Jonathan (Jon) were born. He retired in 1993 from IBM in Longmont, Colorado. Colorado remained his home residence.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents, siblings, and his wife Arvella Sue who died January 26, 1990. Dick married Bertha Katherina Ferguson on July 12, 1996, in Longmont Colorado. Bertha passed away on September 1, 2017. Dick was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in a Branch Presidency and Ward Bishopric while in Saugerties New York. He helped oversee the building of a Ward Chapel and the growth from a branch to a full-sized ward. When he stayed after church to work on Church duties he would often let one of the children sit on his lap and drive the old VW bug from the church house to the main road. He would also faithfully pick up homebound members of the congregation so they could attend services.
After moving to Longmont, he served in the Bishopric and High Priest Group Presidency as well as many other callings. He served as a temple worker at the Denver Colorado Temple for several years. Dick enjoyed photography, camping, fishing, off-road 4-wheeling, playing tennis, and vacation traveling to many locations in Europe. His love of photography started with 8mm film recordings of the family. Births, holidays, and family time were faithfully recorded to chronicle family history. He took up still photography while living in Longmont and loved to experiment with ​ lighting and camera settings to get the best portraits of his family. He then turned to nature photography and combined his love of photography and his love of camping.
Dick is survived by his seven children Karen Voss (Randal), William Kent (Brenda), Janet Jay (Robert), Cathleen Irons (Charles), Stephen Richard (Allison), David Charles (Jessica), and Jonathan Walter. There are 20 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
Viewing and Funeral services will be held on March 8th at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, 2200 11th Ave, Longmont CO. Viewing will be at 11:00 am Funeral Services will be at 12:00 pm Grave side dedication service and interment will be held immediately following the service at the Mountain View Cemetery in Longmont Colorado.