- Date Of Birth: April 29, 1925
- Date Of Death: December 17, 2018
- State: California
Biography
After a great 93 year run in life, our beloved Father, Grandpa, Uncle, Friend and WWII veteran James (Jim) Brooks passed away peacefully on Monday December 17, 2018. Born on April 29, 1925 in Hartshorne, Oklahoma, Dad grew up in Oklahoma and Missouri before moving to California in his teenage years. He got his first job at the Santa Paula Supermarket before he started his lifelong truck driving career. While still at the market the younger daughter of a regular customer caught his eye. Shortly after becoming a truck driver, he joined the army at the age of 18, and after basic training he landed on Utah beach in Normandy on June 8, 1944. He was wounded in battle on July 5th, then after a 4 month hospital stay he returned to fight in the Battle of the Bulge.
Discharged in 1946, he returned to Santa Paula and went back to work at Montalvo Rock Company, which later became SP Milling, where he worked as a member of Teamsters Local 186 until his retirement in 1987. After he returned from the war, he again found that lady that had caught his eye, Rita Carricaburu. Rita was the sister of his brother’s wife MaryAnn. Dad and Mom got married and raised us five children, where we enjoyed the close relationship with our “double cousins.” Yearly vacations were spent at Huntington Lake, Big Bear and at the Rincon. Weekends were spent at the pasture riding horses and teaching us kids how to drive at a young age, and having Sunday BBQs. After we were all grown, the marriage ended and Dad began a new chapter in his life.
