Richard Russum "Dick" Brooks, 86, was born February 9, 1927, in Hot Springs, Arkansas to Robert Earl and Mary Ann (Russum) Brooks. He died on October 26, 2013 at Oakley Manor, Oakley, Kansas. He spent a good share of his childhood in Hot Springs with his cousins and Grandmother Estella Meador. He contracted rheumatic fever as a child and following a lengthy recovery, had a busy childhood playing marbles, delivering newspapers, working in a grocery store, and going to school when necessary. He later moved to western Kansas and lived with a cousin and worked on their farm. He was then hired by Ernest Bertrand to work on his ranch west of Oakley. In October of 1944, at age 17, with written permission from his grandmother, he enlisted in the Navy and served on mine sweeps USS McCook and USS Macomb, working in the engine room. Following his discharge in 1946, he returned to work for Ernest Bertrand, and met the daughter of his co-worker Charles Bradshaw. He married Gladys Janet Bradshaw in Winona, Kansas on December 7, 1946.

Other than a few years in Hot Springs, Dick and Gladys lived most of their married life in Oakley, working and raising their four daughters. He was a hard worker, and over the years he worked with his brother-in-law, Orval Durham, at OK Tires; many years as an engine operator at the Oakley Municipal power plant; later as a mechanic for the Kansas Department of Transportation; and then self-employed repairing mowers and small engines. He enjoyed repairing motors and had a talent for troubleshooting. He liked to go for coffee at Mitten's Truck Stop, conversing with long-time friends and truck drivers he'd just met. He enjoyed helping people, and was known to loan his pickup to a total stranger who needed transportation to run an errand; buy milk for a neighbor with small children and give gifts to children. He had an ornery sense of humor and loved to joke with his family and friends.

Dick is survived by his children: daughter Peggy and her husband Don Suter, of Kaw City, OK; daughter Ann and her husband Wes Day, of Irving, TX; daughter June Guthrie of Long Beach, MS; and daughter TruDee and her husband Kent Little, of Wichita, KS; grandchildren: Jade Suter, Colorado Springs, CO; Joy and John Reed, Mountain House, CA; Bart Suter, Kaw City, OK; Richard Carr, Sr., Mesquite, TX; Cynthia Carr, Mesquite, TX; Sara and Brian Bailey, Hattiesburg, MS; Matthew and Emily Little, DeSoto, KS; and Nathan Little and Stephanie Smith of Kansas City, MO; great-grandchildren: Richard Carr, Jr., Nick Carr, Erin Walker and Kristopher Carr, all of Mesquite, TX; and Ella and Bryce Bailey of Hattiesburg, MS; his sister Mary Francis Irwin, Arapahoe, CO; sister-in-law Doris Brooks of Maple Valley, WA; and many nieces and nephews.

He is predeceased by his wife, Gladys; brother Edward "Red" Brooks; brother James Brooks and wife, Mary; and brother-in-law Roy Irwin; along with in-laws Evelyn and Orval Durham, Dessa and F.F. Marlatt, Helen Bradshaw, Tom and Georgia Bradshaw, Eula Bradshaw, and Violet and Harry Sowers, and several cousins, nieces and nephews.

Funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 29 at the United Methodist Church, Oakley with Pastor Sheryl Johnson officiating. Visitation: 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Monday at Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home. Interment will follow at the Oakley Cemetery with military honors by the U.S. Navy. Memorials to the Logan County Hospital and Oakley United Methodist Church in care of Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home, PO Box 221, Oakley 67748.