Born 1934
Died June 15th, 2024
Lebanon, New Hampshire
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Richard Oliver Brooks (89) of Norwich died on June 15th, 2024, at the Jack Byrne Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital.
Born in 1934, he led a life deeply committed to continuous learning and in particular, his love for reading and writing. Brooks received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and advanced degrees from the University of Chicago, Yale University, and Brandeis University (PhD). He also spent a year studying at the London School of Economics. It was at the University of Chicago where he met his late wife Mollie Bernice Brooks.
Early in his career he was very active in Democratic politics and the social reform movement. He served in senior leadership roles at the Ford Foundation and Thames Valley Council for Community Action (TVCCA) with a focus on combating poverty. He was particularly proud of the work he led at TVCCA as the Executive Director which led to the inception of programs like Head Start, Legal Aid and the Foster Grandparents program.
Despite his success in helping drive social reform, he found his true calling in teaching, so he focused on pursuing a career in academia. He began his teaching career at the University of Rhode Island and Connecticut College in the 1970s. After this period, he focused his interest in Environmental Law and was recruited in 1978 to launch the Environmental Law Center at Vermont Law School (VLS). While teaching at Vermont Law school he taught summers at Dartmouth College as an adjunct Professor. During this time, he became well known for his expertise of Vermont’s Act 250. This was his most prolific period of scholarship, becoming known as an international expert on environmental law and policy. This led him to teaching abroad in Canada at McGill University and later in Russia. He taught at VLS until his retirement in 2005 and was awarded Emeritus status by VLS. However, Brooks’ true passion was for the “Classics” which culminated in his final publication, The Final Elegy, published in 2022 at the age of 87. This Book addressed how the great philosophers grappled with aging and dying, helping him come to terms with his own mortality. In his final days Dick left this world with very few regrets however as his death became eminent his one regret revealed was that he would not be present to cast his vote in the 2024 Presidential election.
Brooks was not just a scholar but a loving husband, father, and grandfather to his late wife Mollie Brooks, children Lee and Olivia Brooks and grandfather to four grandchildren. He will be remembered for his wit, sense of humor and for being an attentive listener. As his wife Mollie, he had a love for animals, especially for his cat and therefore any memorial donations should be sent to the Humane Society.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Richard Oliver Brooks.