TAHLEQUAH — Services for Bradford Lynn “Brad” Brooks will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at 2 p.m., at the Cookson United Methodist Church in Cookson with Rev. Rudy Freese and Don Kent Harvey officiating. Interment will follow at the Cookson-Proctor Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Reed-Culver Funeral Home of Tahlequah.

Pallbearers for Brad include: Robert Brooks, Rodney Brooks, Tim Grandbois, Traver Grandbois, Bob Ballew, Eric Ballew and James Ballew.

Brad Brooks was born the eighth of nine children born to James Francis and Norma Jeane (Harvey) Brooks on May 9, 1956, in Enid. Brad graduated from Tahlequah High School in 1974. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served his country from 1975 until his honorable discharge in in 1978, serving as a unit supplyman while serving in Germany.

At one point in time, Brad and two of his brothers, Steven and Rodney, were all serving at the same time at Fort Sill in Lawton.  Upon returning to the Tahlequah area, Brad continued his education at Northeastern State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Arts Education. Brad received 100 percent disability from his service with the U.S. Army.

Brad instilled his love for life in his pride and joy, his daughter, Amber. He taught her to shoot a gun, have fun while mowing the lawn, techniques in fishing, and the importance in having fun in your childhood. There were lessons in identifiying wildlife, especially snakes, and life at Lake Tenkiller, the fishing, swimming, and treating the occasional sunburn. He was a NASCAR enthusiast and a fan of Jeff Gordon. He possessed a green thumb and enjoyed raising plants and flowers of all varieties. These were Brad’s little gifts he passed on to his family and friends alike.

Family was everything to Brad. He treasured any time spent with Amber, her husband Tim, and their children, Traver and Kendall. Amber’s sister, Fallon remembers that Brad was always a friendly guy. He could make friends with a stop sign. When Fallon was born, her father was not available. So Fallon received the Brooks name. A name is your identity. Fallon always expressed gratitude that the Brooks family treated her as one of their own. Brad loved people and it showed in his quick smile and easy going manner. He loved his siblings, parents, and all of his family. A Christian by faith, Brad was called to his heavenly home on Feb. 20, 2013, at his home in Cookson. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Brad was 56 years old. Brad is preceded in death by his grandparents, Veatrice and Jim Harvey and Ruby and George Brooks; his parents; one brother, Harvey James Brooks in 2006; one sister, Marcheta Jeane Brooks in 2010; and sister-in law, Sandra Martin Brooks in 2009.

Those left to cherish Brad’s memory include his loving daughter and her family; Amber Grandbois and husband Tim of Soulsbyville, Calif.; one sister and five brothers, Cynthia Rose “Cindy” Ballew and husband Bob of Cookson, Terry Ray Brooks of Tulsa, Monte Joe Brooks of Cookson, Steven Louis Brooks and wife Mitzi of Enid, Rodney Lee Brooks of Cookson, and Robert Edward Brooks of Cookson.

His legacy lives on in his two grandsons, Traver; and one granddaughter, Kendall Grandbois of Soulsbyville, Calif.; as well as 18 nieces and nephews, 18 great-nieces and great-nephews, many cousins, aunts, and uncles, and a host of friends and loved ones.

Life is God’s gift to you. The way you live it is your gift to God. Remember, only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. A veteran is someone who, at one point of his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America.”

Reed-Culver Funeral Home, 117 W. Delaware, (918) 456-2551.