Dennis Roy Brooks

Dennis Roy Brooks, beloved father, brother, uncle, friend and neighbor, passed away peacefully at his home in Taos Canyon on July 24, 2021. Dennis is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Tequila Jane Brooks and Eugene Brown of Alexandria, Virginia; sister Nancy E. Brooks and her partner Mike Hein of Brattleboro, Vermont and Crystal River, Florida; sister and brother-in-law Margaret and Bruce Bills of Townshend, Vermont; sister-in-law Patricia Brooks of Brattleboro, Vermont; former wife Lee B. Harley of Los Lunas, New Mexico; nephews and nieces Thad and Judy Brooks of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Stephen Brooks and Amy Gervaise of Ripton, Vermont; Kelly and Chris Darwell of Bennington, Vermont; Tracy Kerylow of Brattleboro, Vermont; Vicki Brooks and Mitchell Rorabaugh of Orcas Island, Washington and Wichita Falls, Texas; Nick and Tricia Shine of Townshend, Vermont; and Travis and Sarah Shine of Newfane, Vermont; several great-nieces and great-nephews; and many friends and neighbors in Taos, New Mexico and elsewhere. Dennis is pre-deceased by his parents, Roy I. Brooks and Margaret H. Brooks, and brothers Stephen, Bruce, Mortimer, and Michael.

Dennis graduated from Leland & Gray High School in Townshend, Vermont, in 1953 and served in the U.S. Army in the mid-1950s. He first arrived in Taos in 1959, settling permanently in Taos Canyon. He worked as a builder, a carpenter, a stonemason, and, in later years, a surveyor’s assistant. Dennis played classical guitar and was a vociferous reader. Dennis would read any book, whether it was his favorite classic, Cervantes’ Don Quijote, or a tome on livestock statistics in Australia in the 1930s. He was also fond of reading magazines like National Graphic, Sky and Telescope, Scientific American, and Archaeology. An avid traveler and fan of Jack Kerouac, Dennis drove across the Continental United States with his brothers and friends on numerous occasions and traveled frequently to Mexico and Spain over the years – not to mention throughout Europe and Central America. In their youth, he and his brother Michael traveled to North Africa by freighter.

Every morning, Dennis would wake up early in his cabin in Taos Canyon and start the fire he prepared the night before in his wood stove, make himself a strong cup of expresso and some home-made drop biscuits, practice his guitar for 30 minutes, and perform Royal Canadian Air Force calisthenics. He would look out in contemplation over the valley and trees from his home on the side of the mountain, feed biscuit crumbs and bird seed out of his hand to the birds, and hike the roads and well-worn trails around his cabin and in Taos Canyon – often in search of deadwood to use as firewood in the wintertime. He will be sorely missed.

Memorial Information: Dennis, like most of his family, was always an avid reader and lover of books. Donations in the Memory of Dennis R. Brooks may be made to the Taos Community Foundation, memo: Friends of Taos Public Library, 115 La Posta Rd, Ste A, Taos, New Mexico, 87571, https://taoscf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1660.

The family of Dennis Roy Brooks has entrusted the care of their loved one to DeVargas Funeral Home of Taos.  866-657-4019 www.devargastaos.com