Brooks celebrated

The focus turned onto legendary press and studio photographer and newspaper co-founder Gordon Brooks as his family and friends gathered at the St George Anglican Church to bade him farewell today.

Those gathered heard stories about Brooks, 81, the committed family man and his extraordinary career as a cricket photographer, travelling the world to capture memorable moments of the West Indies Cricket team.

Governor General Dame Sandra Mason attended the funeral service for her friend who was a founding member and Director of the Nation Newspaper and Member of the Lions Club of Barbados South.

Brooks, who co-founded the Brooks LaTouche Photography Studio in 1971, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Tuesday June 29 after a brief illness.

His son Randy Brooks, who has followed in the senior Brooks’ footsteps, told mourners that though his father spent much time away building his photography business and the newspaper company he co-founded, since 1999, he spent ten years working with and building a closer relationship with his father.

“Daddy, I have nothing to forgive you for,” Randy said. “I understand how important work is and planning for a future. You were simply playing the hand that you were dealt. How can we believe that God has a plan for us, but when we see someone playing those cards and winning, we call it something else other than God’s plan?

“Daddy might not be the one spending enough time in church throughout his life, but for me he was an angel. How else can I explain it? For every single person that he met, Gordon Brooks touched their lives in a special way. From the ground stand on the cricket field, to the President’s Box, Brooks was loved by everyone. To you, Brooks was a giant of a man. To me he was more than a man. He was a man plus tax.”

Meanwhile, the lone daughter Dr Makeba Brooks said her father never got the opportunity to receive a solid education, with his only formal schooling being provided at St Giles Boys’ School which ended when he was 15. She recalled that her father never once complained about his missed schooling opportunities, or thought he was dealt an unfair hand, as he had a quiet awareness of his family situation and embraced his life story.

Dr Brooks said her dad started working at the Barbados Advocate where his father worked for a mere $3 a week, but he never complained because he believed that little with content is great gain.

“Dad’s work over the years was formally recognized in 2017 when he was awarded the Silver Crown of Merit for his contribution to photography, an award that he humbly accepted. . .My brothers Enrico and Randy would grow to walk admirably in daddy’s large shoes, nurturing a pride within my father that could be expected from any man who was left to seamlessly hand over the reins of a business to his sons. But there was more to this pride in his boys, he was proud of the men they had become and, in the women, they had chosen to spend their lives with.”

Dr Brooks said even though she followed a different career path, her father was still proud of her.

Delivering a tribute before the start of the service, veteran journalist Al Gilkes said he met Brooks when he went to work at the Advocate in 1960, and they developed a close relationship over the years as they covered sports and news events.

Gilkes recalled that he and Brooks went to Martinique to cover the trial of an arms dealer who was allegedly coming to Barbados with a boat load of ammunition to overthrow the Tom Adams administration but was arrested by the Martinique Navy. However, Gilkes said the trial ended with him being arrested for trying to interview the man in court after he was sentenced, while Brooks was outside being arrested with a gun to his head by a member of the Martinique Police Force while attempting to take photographs of the proceedings.

The former senior Nation editor said they both pleaded innocent and eventually he was forced to hand over his recording to a judge who destroyed it, and Brooks was ordered to empty his camera.

Speaking via video recording from Montreal where he lives, Brooks’ brother Reverend Dr Stanley Brooks said family members were proud of the photographer’s success in establishing the studio which is now located at Pine Road, St Michael.

He said he was proud at how his brother masterfully captured moments at games wherever in the world the West Indies played, always operating at the top of his game as he strived for excellence.

He said: “Gordon was always pleasant, endearing, and easy to get along with. He enjoyed the simple pleasure of getting together with a group of good friends for a Vodka, soda, or two, scrabble and good conversation. But nothing pleased him more than meeting with friends every week from early Monday morning to early Friday morning at Miami beach, for a good stroll along the beach, a swim, a chat regarding whatever was newsworthy and sharing fruits with his friends.

“Family meant everything to Gordon. What strikes me personally is that Gordon always kept in touch with overseas relatives. He would phone to find out whatever was going on in our lives, and bring us up to date with local family situations. Gordon had a big generous heart. He was enterprising, talented and caring.”

Rector Senator John Rogers, who urged the congregation to utilize their gifts from God and to answer their calling, said Brooks touched many lives through bringing cricket games to life for those who were not present. Rogers also indicated that Brooks was also a devoted Christian who never missed mass.

“He never forgot where he came from though he walked with princes, he always identified with the ordinary person. That is the man that we celebrate today. He was just calm, just cool, but one who touched the lives of his fellow human beings. His life was always intermingled with the lives of others and that is what we were really called to do in this life.”

Brooks was laid to rest at Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens.

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)