Keith H Brooks

October 14, 1955 - January 10, 2022

Keith Hickman Brooks went to be with his Lord and Savior on January 10, 2022. Keith attended church every Sunday and he served as an usher at City of Life for many years. Serving the Lord brought him immense honor and joy. He loved Jesus with all his heart. He was truly a godly man, son, husband, father, and friend. Keith is survived by his wife, Mary Calderon Brooks, son (Kelin), step-son (Jose) brother (Lester), sisters-in-law (Carole; Michelle), grandsons (Jace and Jacob), nieces, and nephews. Keith was preceded in death by his youngest son (Kenny), youngest brother (Adam), and oldest brother (Cleve) who passed away just one month prior to Keith. Keith Hickman Brooks was born on October 14, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late Cleveland C. Brooks and Alice E. Brooks (deceased). Keith was a graduate of Ludlow Elementary School, Woodbury Junior High School, and in 1974 from Shaker Heights High School. While at Shaker, Keith was a member of the wrestling team and an outstanding player for the football team. As a member of the football team, Keith was selected in 1973 to the all-league (Lake Erie League) team and later named to the Shaker Football All-Time Team. His achievements on the football field earned him a scholarship to Hanover College in Indiana. After briefly transferring to Bluffton College in Ohio, Keith decided that the United States Navy was better suited for him. In the Navy, Keith served on the U.S.S. Enterprise aircraft carrier where he experienced port calls to numerous nations. After his honorable discharge from the Navy, Keith settled in Orlando, Florida and ultimately joined the United States Postal Service in 1977 and retired 34 years later in 2011. He held various positions within the U.S. Postal Service as Delivery Supervisor, Officer-in-Charge/Postmaster and Acting Manager. Keith was a super fan of the Cleveland Browns football team. The family knew not to call him during a Browns game and never after a loss. In 2003 Keith and brother Lester came up with the idea to have the four Brooks brothers meet once a year in a different city to watch the Browns. “Football Weekend” soon included wives, children, and relatives. Keith and brothers looked forward to their weekend together and carried on this tradition to eleven different cities with the last being in New Orleans in 2018. As one of four, Keith valued his relationship with his brothers. He spoke of many memorable occasions with them laughing, joking, and providing support for each other. Each week the brothers conference-called or zoomed so they could stay in close contact with each other. Keith and Mary: Keith and I met in 1998 when I transferred from the San Juan, Puerto Rico Post Office. I was assigned to Retail and he was the Delivery Supervisor for the carriers. Our paths didn't really cross, but on various occasions when they did, he would tell me, "What? They haven't fired you yet"? I thought he was trying to get me fired. I really didn't know him well enough to know he was really joking, so I made sure to avoid him. One day I was sitting in my Supervisor's office, he walked in and said something to her. Then he looked at me and said, "you not fired yet”? I remember I looked at him (very calmly) and said, “Well, if I get fired, you are going to adopt me and my son”. Within minutes the office was filled with smoke and when it cleared, he was nowhere to be found. Needless to say, that was the last time he ever asked me about getting fired. As I got to know Keith better, I admired him for being a single dad taking care of his two sons. This showed me he was a good Dad. When his father passed away unexpectedly, he and his brothers took care of their mom. This showed me he was a good Son. I loved the way he and his brothers were always making plans to see each other at least once a year or talk on the phone weekly. This showed me he was a good Brother. I would hear him on the phone speaking with one of his family members or friends comforting them when they needed some love or laughter. He had a good sense of humor. This showed me that he was a loving, caring and thoughtful man who would put everyone else ahead of himself. It only took Keith 16 years to propose to me. (I was surprised and happy). As we combined our households after marriage we began to build a relationship that was filled with kindness, love, happiness, loving memories, friendship. He would tell me "we are a team". We had endearing names for each other. His was "dear" and I was his “baby-baby". He would never put up with anyone messing with his “baby-baby”! He showed me his undying love for me, his constant support and for the way he always made sure I was safe. How he made me laugh because he always wanted me to relax and enjoy life. He encouraged me every day to be a better person. How blessed I was to have Keith, my soul mate, show me his true feelings and love all these years. In 2013, Keith's life became even more enriched with the birth of our first grandson, JJ even if we only had him for 2 weeks before he went to heaven. I know they are together now. Our second grandson Jace was born in 2014 and our littlest Jacob in 2020. Since Jace was 3 months old, Keith would pick him up every Wednesday to spend the day with us. Those "two" had the most loving, caring "love affair" any grandparent could ever wish for. He taught Jace how to swim and he looked like a proud Peacock to see how his "grandpa's baby" (as he loved to call him) learned to swim so well. He took him to the park, zoo, circus, and we went to see Jace's favorite "Superman Live" and many more adventures for Jace to cherish. Jacob is too young to remember his grandpa, but I know that Jace has much fun, loving, silly and exciting stories to tell him about their grandpa. This showed me that he made sure his legacy would continue through his grandchildren. Although, man's medicine couldn't heal you, my "Dear" you now have God's eternal medicine which has healed you completely; pain free with quality of life. Rest in internal Peace, until we meet again. Love you, my "Dear"!!!!!!!!!!!!!