Obit of Gardner, Harold Brooks (g635) - Comanche County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 12 Jul 2004 Return to Comanche County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/comanche/comanche.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== Surnames: Gardner, Lytle Contra Costa Times 22 Jun 2004 Gardner, Harold Brooks Sept. 30, 1923 - June 17, 2004 Harold Brooks Gardner passed away with family in attendance at the Kaiser Medical Center in Oakland last Thursday. He was 80 years old, a retired Professional Engineer, and until recently, in excellent health. A short battle with lymphoma kept his suffering brief. Brooks, as he preferred to be called, was born in New York City, but was brought up in nearby New Rochelle, New York. His 1940 high school yearbook indicated his ambition was to get into West Point, however he enrolled at Princeton University. Pearl Harbor changed his plans. At Princeton, he majored in mechanical engineering, took his meals at Cannon Club, and was in ROTC. In May 1943, his detachment was federalized into active duty, and he ended up at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma as an instructor at the Field Artillery School. It was there he met the love of his life, Maggie Lytle, a Red Cross volunteer, and they were married in the base chapel on July 6, 1945. Shortly thereafter, he received orders to go to the Pacific for the impending invasion of Japan. He kissed Maggie goodbye in Contra Costa County at the gates of Camp Stoneman, and was at sea when the atomic bombs ended WWII. Brooks then spent a year of occupation duty in the Philippines before returning stateside. He and Maggie returned to Princeton, where he finished his studies in 1947. Brooks began his career with Goodyear Tire & Rubber in Akron, Ohio, and was transferred to the Northern California district in 1951. He and Maggie were delighted to be able to put down roots in Contra Costa, and settled in Orinda. Following a long and interesting career as a manufacturing engineer, Brooks retired in 1987. His retired years included frequent international and domestic travel, gardening, and new building projects on the family log cabin in Tuolumne County. He is survived by his wife of nearly 59 years, Maggie, and 3 sons, Chip in Sheridan, Wyoming, Tom in Orinda, and Don in the Republic of Singapore. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Margaret Sheldon, in 2002. Brooks was a member of the Lamorinda VFW Post #8063, and his last time out in public was at the recent ground breaking for the new Veterans Building near Lafayette Reservoir. Accordingly, his Memorial will be held at the old Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building on Wednesday, June 23 at 4pm for family and close friends. Brooks was the Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 244 in Orinda for several years in the 1960s, and the Boy Scouts of America would be his first choice for any memorial contributions. Arrangements by the Neptune Society, Walnut Creek. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Comanche County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/comanche/comanche.html