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Robert Doolen Brooks was raised on a farm in rural Texas near Salado. He was a ranch hand, a soldier, a mechanic, a husband, a father, a grandfather and a NASCAR fan. R.D., as his friends and family called him, passed away on July 9, 2024, at 76 years old.

A service will be Saturday, July 13, 10 a.m., at Keahey Funeral Home in Andalusia. Visitation will be 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Burial will be in Andalusia Memorial with military honors.

R.D. was born April 3, 1948, to Lena Burnham and Doolen Richard Brooks at home. The day of his birth started his lifelong trait of what some might call “being stubborn” though those who were close to him know it was just the beginning of his inability to quit. R.D. was stillborn and already set aside by his doctor before he took his first breath and let the room know he was ready to live.

R.D. left school in the tenth grade to help his family with the farm so his siblings could continue their education. He joined the U.S. Army in 1968 and was stationed at Fort Rucker in Alabama when he went on a blind date with a Troy State University student. When he returned from his time serving in Vietnam as a carpenter and firefighter, R.D. married that student on June 27, 1970, and he and Helen spent most of their married life together in Andalusia raising their two children, Robbyn and Justin.

R.D. worked at B&K Auto Service in Andalusia as a mechanic and he was a longtime employee at Pleasant Home School where he retired. Not being able to truly stop working, he later spent his “retired” days “keeping folks straight” at Morris Auto Salvage where he was able to talk cars, work on engines and be surrounded by friends.

R.D. is survived by his wife, Helen; his daughter, Robbyn Taylor (Aaron); his son, Justin Brooks; his grandson, Brooks Taylor; his sister, Nelta Wigley (Gary Richards); his brother, William Brooks (Linda); his brothers-in-law, Allen Phillips (Joy) and Michael Phillips (Teresa) and many nieces and nephews.