WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Lt. Col. Laurence Milton Brooker (USAF, Ret), 80, died Sept. 5, 2011, at Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Lt. Col. Brooker was born on Oct. 24, 1930 in Buffalo, and adopted by parents Addie Nelson (Brooker) and Laverne Brooker. He grew up in Norwich, and played football and ran track for the Purple Tornado at Norwich High School, where he set several school records in track that were not broken until decades later. It was in Norwich that he met his high school sweetheart and the future Mary Elizabeth (Brennan) Brooker. Always with a smile on his face, he was known throughout his life as “Red” by friends and family for his bright, Irish red hair.
Red attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania before joining the United States Air Force, where he had a decorated career as a navigator aboard several aircraft including the B-47 Stratojet, C-130 Hercules, and the C-141 Starlifter. While in the Air Force, he completed his business degree at Syracuse University.  He flew several important Cold War missions in B-47’s from Plattsburgh Air Force Base, including during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he travelled around the world several times over. During the Vietnam Conflict, he flew C-130’s in support of ground troops from Cam Ranh Bay Air Base in South Vietnam, and returned home to Fayetteville wearing a 6-inch handlebar mustache, which Mary Elizabeth made him shave the day he got back.   
 He left active duty service in 1970 and continued serving his country by joining the Air Force Reserves and flying C-141’s from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. until his retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1981.  Upon his retirement from the Air Force, he was employed at the Joint Special Operations Command Facility at Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, NC.  In 2005, he moved from Fayetteville and lived at the Heritage Woods Retirement Community in Winston-Salem, NC where he made many new friends and was known for playing a mean game of bridge and bingo.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Mary Elizabeth. He is survived by his sons Michael (Mimi) of Greensburg, PA; Shawn (Kathy) of Lynchburg, VA; Kevin (Mary Ellen) of O’Fallon, IL; Timothy (Jeanne) of Winston-Salem; and Christopher (Monica) of Kernersville and grandchildren Brennan, Erin, Meredith, Daniel, Gerard, Sarah, Warren, Colin, Elizabeth, Alexander and Allison Brooker. 
Red touched the lives of so many with his wit and stories. The family wishes to thank the staff at Heritage Woods Retirement Community for their dedicated care and the medical staff of 4C ICU and especially Dr. Peter Lichstein at Wake Forest Baptist Health for their kindness in his time of need. Friends and family are invited to a memorial Mass Thursday at 11 a.m. at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church celebrated by Father Lucas Rossi. A military burial will be held following Mass at Lafayette Cemetery in Fayetteville, N.C.
In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to the NC Triad Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, 1106 Burke Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 in Red and Mary Elizabeth’s memory. 
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Salem Funerals & Cremations, Winston-Salem, N.C. Online condolences may be made through www.salemfh.com.