CUMBERLAND HEAD – After a long and courageous battle with cancer, William E. “Bill” Brooks passed away peacefully on Friday, March 12, 2010 at his home.
Born on January 28, 1947 in Queens, to Agnes and Bertram Brooks, Bill is survived by his wife of 41 years, Jane, and his two sons, Nicolas and Jonathan, his brother David and wife Linda, and their daughters Lisa and Amy, of Massapequa Park; his cousin Richard Brooks and wife Delores, and their two children Lauren and Jeff, of Marathon, He is also survived by his sister-in-law Sue Doran, and her two children, Lucas and Amelia.
After graduating Great Neck South High School (NY) in 1965, Bill attended SUNY Cortland eventually getting his BS in Biology and going on to receive his MS in Education from Elmira College. During this time, he met his wife while singing in the college choir and they went on to both briefly pursue careers as teachers. Bill also enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving from 1971-1976.
Bill made a significant career change when he took a job in the pharmaceutical industry and moved his family to Norwich. He worked for Norwich Eaton, and eventually Procter and Gamble, while living and raising his family there for almost 12 years. At this time, Bill also earned a MBA from Syracuse University. After a brief move to Cincinnati, Ohio with P&G, Bill joined Whitehall Robbins in 1993 as AVP Plant Manager in Hammonton, N.J. In 1995, he was appointed Managing Director in Rouses Point for Wyeth Ayerst where he served proudly from 1995-2002. Since that time, he assumed increasing levels of responsibility, most recently Vice President, U.S. Consumer Healthcare Product Supply. He retired officially in November 2009.
Beyond his working life, Bill enjoyed boating, traveling, reading about history, doing crossword puzzles, listening to classical music, brewing beer and anything he could for those around him. Bill was deeply committed to helping people, serving on the boards of CVPH, SUNY Plattsburgh, The Development Corporation, and Hill and Hollow.
All who knew Bill could not deny his genuine kindness, his unwavering integrity, and the unassuming way he treated all the people in his life with the deepest respect. Bill will be missed dearly by all who knew him.
There will be no public calling hours. His service will be held at the Saranac United Methodist Church of Saranac, on Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m.
Arrangements are being made by Walker Funeral Home, in Plattsburgh. In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift can be made in his name through the Lymphoma Research Foundation, 115 Broadway, 13th Floor, NY NY 10006 or www.lymphoma.org.
Online condolences may be made at rwwalkerfh.com.