William H. Brooks

William was the son of the late Mary Ellen Commodore and was born on December 25, 1935. On Tuesday, February 18, 2003. William was called home to be with his heavenly father after a lengthy illness with cancer.He attended Baltimore City Schools graduating from Douglas High School in February of 1955. He graduated from Morgan State University with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and continued his studies in Correctional Counseling at Coppin State College. He also received a Certificate in Criminal Justice Planning from the University of Wisconsin.He began his employment with the State of Maryland in 1964 working as a Parole and Probation Officer in Baltimore City. In 1966, he joined the Department of Juvenile Services in Baltimore City as a Probation Supervisor. During his career he accepted several reassignments-one of which was Criminal Juvenile Planner with Regional Planning Council in Baltimore City. In this position, he was responsible for assisting the city and county criminal justice agencies, private groups and vendors in developing grant applications for the Law Enforcement (LEAA_ fund from The Maryland Governor’s Commission on Law Enforcement. He had the overall responsibility for monitoring this program, which included a close working relationship with the courts, state attorney’s offices and the police departments.He was the Program Director for the Minority Real Estate Program. The emphasis on this program was to increase the number of minority persons in the Baltimore and surrounding counties, working as full-time associates. He scheduled several seminars to assist in writing resumes, tutoring for the examination and to help increase their understanding of the Real Estate Industry. He also worked for The Maryland Parole Commission as an Administrative Specialist. He e4nsured that the policies and procedures were adhered to when corresponding with prison inmates, their families and lawyers. He also scheduled hearings for both The Hearing Commissioner and the Hearing Offices.In the late eighties he returned to the Department of Juvenile Services as a supervisor until he retired in 1996.William was a member of The Epworth United Methodist Chapel, The NAACP, The William F. Taylor Lodge, and an Honorary member of The Florence, South Carolina Alumni Association.William was a soft-spoken man with many interests that included mentoring others; listening to music; reading avidly; and spending quality time with family and friends. He was especially fond of his four grandchildren as they were oft times the light of his life and among many others, the source of his strength.William leaves in mourning: his wife, Mamie Addison Brooks; three children, a daughter, Deborah Joyner of Pine Grove, Pennsylvania; a son, Dorian Brooks of Atlanta, Georgia; and a daughter, Donna Brooks of Baltimore, Maryland; four grandchildren-Talia Joyner, Simchah Joyner, Chiel Joyner and Sidney Brooks; one adopted sister, Dorothy Johnson; and a nephew, Kirston Johnson of Baltimore, Maryland; two sisters-in-law, Beatrice James and Theresa Addison; two brothers-in-law, Belton James of Florence, South Carolina and Bruce Addison of Concorde, North Carolina; one niece, Dr. Beverly James of Pasadena, California; two nephews, Nathaniel Barrett of Brooklyn, New York and Dr. Ronald Barrett of Los Angeles, California; an aunt, Dorothy Cobb of Laurel, Maryland; a cousin, Shirley Lyles of Clarksville, Maryland; and many other dear relatives and friends.

Tributes

William H. Brooks

December 25, 1935 - February 18, 2003