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Melvin (Mel) Eugene Brooks, of Bartlesville, went to be in the everlasting arms of his Savior on Sunday, October 20, 2019, at the age of 87.
Mel was born on July 4, 1932 near Grenola, Kansas to Ernest and Ethel (Evans) Brooks and was the youngest of two boys. He was a graduate of Caney (Kansas) High School and married the love of his life, Mary Katherine Brooks, on November 30, 1951 in Caney.
Mel was a devoted husband and father, who loved and cared for his family; living in Biloxi, Mississippi and San Antonio, Texas as he served his country in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1956. He was also stationed overseas during the Korean Conflict. Mel earned the rank of staff sergeant in the Air Force and was honorably discharged.
The Brooks family moved back to Caney after serving in the Air Force, and then settled in Bartlesville in 1958.
Mel had a long and distinguished career as an engineer for Phillips Petroleum Company and traveled around the world showing his expertise with Phillips' Applied Automation and Opseis technologies. In 1974, Mel had the opportunity of a lifetime being able to live with his wife in London, England. While there, he and Mary helped establish a Church of Christ, as he loved his Savior and his church without fail.
In 1977, Mary and Mel moved back home to Bartlesville where they would remain together until her passing in 2015.
Mel's devotion to the Lord was unending. He was a deacon and elder for the Adams Blvd. Church of Christ for several years, focusing on outreach, the community care program and the prison ministry at Dick Conner Correctional Facility in Hominy. He was always willing to give a helping hand to those in need, showing Christ's love through service.
Mel loved repairing things - especially antique radios, televisions and anything dealing with computers. He also enjoyed using his metal detector, finding old coins and treasures across northeast Oklahoma and southeast Kansas.
Throughout the 1980s, Mel found a Christian mission he was passionate
about - World Christian Broadcasting. With his background in engineering,
Mel and Mary traveled frequently to Anchor Point, Alaska where Mel would
provide engineering support over the summer months for shortwave radio
station KNLS. The radio station broadcasts encouraging Christian messages,
music and special programs 24 hours a day, in multiple languages across the
world.
In his later years, he was a much-loved resident of Tallgrass
Estates in Bartlesville.
Mel is survived by one son, Steve Brooks, and wife Debbie of Dewey, Oklahoma; one daughter, Trish Thompson, and husband Jerry of Bartlesville; one brother, Hobart Brooks, and his wife Ginni of Montrose, Colorado; three grandchildren, Nathan Thompson of Rapid City, South Dakota, Amber Wright, and her husband Calvin of Dewey, and Whitney Beeman and her husband Kyle of Richardson, Texas; one honorary granddaughter, Kyela McCrory and her husband Jonathan of Lyons, Georgia; two great-grandchildren, Vahlen and Kaden Thompson; and several nieces and nephews across the nation.
He was proceeded in death by his wife, Mary, of Bartlesville; and parents, Ernest and Ethel Brooks, of Caney.
A memorial service will be held Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 10 a.m. at the Adams Blvd. Church of Christ in Bartlesville with Dave Hammonds of Legacy Church of Christ officiating. Private family interment will be held later in the day at the Sunny Side Cemetery in Caney, Kansas.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to World Christian Broadcasting, 605 Bradley Court, Franklin, TN 37067; Hope Harbor Children's Home PO Box 1047, Claremore, OK 74017; or The Journey Home, 900 NE Washington Blvd., Bartlesville, OK 74006.
Arrangements are under the direction of Stumpff Funeral Home and Crematory. Mel's obituary was written by his grandson, Nathan Thompson, formerly with the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise and now with the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal.
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