William Jesse ‘Bill’ Brooks, 85, McCleary resident and former Tru-Value Hardware Store owner in Packwood, WA, died Saturday, December 22, 2018 at his home in McCleary.
Bill was born on November 21, 1933 in Packwood to Luther Franklin and Gertrude (Mackey) Brooks. His family moved to Myrtle Pointe, OR where he graduated from high school. After high school, he joined the Air Force and did Radar Repair on Okinawa. Following his discharge from the military he married Paula Lancaster in Myrtle Pointe. They later divorced.
Bill went to work for IBM in Tacoma as a Customer Engineering Specialist doing repair and installation from 1960 to 72. He then went to work for Comma Corp in Los Angeles for three years. He then started Infinite Computer Services in Santa Fe Springs, CA from 74-76.
Bill moved to Mossyrock and lived there until 1984. He built cable systems in both Packwood and Mossyrock. He then moved to Packwood and opened Packwood Tru-Value and ran it for 8 years.
On April 14, 1986, Bill married Alvina Marie LaLande in Reno, NV. She resides at the family home.
In 1997, they moved to Bend, OR for the fishing. In 2000, they moved to Littlerock, WA and eight years later to McCleary.
Bill was a member of Packwood Lions Club. He enjoyed fishing, golfing and woodworking. He enjoyed building two toy chests for his grandkids.
Bill is survived by his wife of 32 years, Alvina Brooks of McCleary; a son, Gordon (Wendy) Brooks of Amboy, WA and a daughter, Adrienne Hickey of Olympia; two step-sons: Gary (Rose) Lacefield of Brady, WA and Mark Lacefield of Hoquiam, WA; two step-daughters: Debbie Knorpp of San Carlos, CA and Linda (Mike) Peterson of Aberdeen; Three brothers: John Brooks of McCleary, WA, Tom Brooks of Silver Creek, WA and Gary Brooks of Packwood, WA; a sister, Betty Lewellen of Springfield, OR; numerous grandchildren and many great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a step-son, Steve Lacefield; a brother, Robert Brooks and a sister, Barbara Westerland.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, WA.

Affiliations

Air Force
Lion's Club