Spring Break
Students remember A&M Professor Douglas Brooks
Memorial set for man who friends say was full of life
By: Laura Sanchez
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: News
Douglas Brooks, an associate professor in the English department at Texas A&M for 11 years, was being treated for lung cancer in a hospital in Chapel Hill, N.C. He lost his battle to the disease on Jan. 27.
"He was just so full of life, and he has this vigor that rubbed off on everybody. He was vibrant," said Christopher Suchma, a friend of Douglas Brooks.
His concentration was early modern literature and he taught classes ranging from Shakespeare to Anti-Semitism.
"I was honored to know Douglas Brooks, to spend time in the glow of his brilliance, to hear his zany laugh and have him as a close friend and colleague. We will all miss him," said Jimmie Killingsworth, head of the English department, in an e-mail to English majors sent out Monday.
Brooks worked as the faculty coordinator of the College of Liberal Arts Honors Plan and the editor of "Shakespeare Yearbook," an international journal of Shakespeare scholarship.
"He was a complicated man, but he was very devoted professor, and just the most brilliant professor that I've ever had. It was so common for student after student to say he was the best professor they ever had," said Kristen Lacefield, a former student of Brooks.
Friends and colleagues remember his dramatic way of teaching and his passion for life.
"To him, learning and the quest for knowledge was a way of life, it was not just an occupation," Lacefield said. "He tried to gain as much knowledge as he could; he was a very well-rounded person. He had more depth than almost anyone I've ever met."
Brooks loved to pack lecture halls and was interested in his students' lives and readily offered help to them. Many students received his help in graduate thesis or getting into law or medical school.
"He was passionate about taking care of loved ones. I got a lecture every time I talked to him about taking care of my wife," Suchma said. "The music, the literature, the family - those were his big passions."
"He was just so passionate about what he did," said Riley Larson, Brooks' former dog-sitter for his dog, Brisket.
Brooks regularly took his dog to his lectures and was very much a part of his life. Brooks gave Brisket to Larson just before being admitted to the hospital.
Lacefield remembered a specific lecture about Hamlet and the "excess of flesh." She said Brooks would concentrate on these topics because he knew there might be some students with eating disorders who he wanted to help.
Speakers at the memorial service will include students, friends, colleagues and a rabbi of Brooks' faith.
"Heartsease," an old musical ensemble, will be played at the memorial service to music from the Shakespearean period. Brooks played with the ensemble while he was alive.
Students and others wishing to send condolence letters are welcome to do so. The department has asked that they be addressed to his three-year-old son, Judah Rosner.
Killingsworth will collect the notes and deliver them to Judah's mother, Victoria Rosner, who will give them to her son when he is old enough to read them.
In memory
A memorial service is planned for Brooks at the All Faiths Chapel on Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
"He was just so full of life, and he has this vigor that rubbed off on everybody. He was vibrant," said Christopher Suchma, a friend of Douglas Brooks.
His concentration was early modern literature and he taught classes ranging from Shakespeare to Anti-Semitism.
"I was honored to know Douglas Brooks, to spend time in the glow of his brilliance, to hear his zany laugh and have him as a close friend and colleague. We will all miss him," said Jimmie Killingsworth, head of the English department, in an e-mail to English majors sent out Monday.
Brooks worked as the faculty coordinator of the College of Liberal Arts Honors Plan and the editor of "Shakespeare Yearbook," an international journal of Shakespeare scholarship.
"He was a complicated man, but he was very devoted professor, and just the most brilliant professor that I've ever had. It was so common for student after student to say he was the best professor they ever had," said Kristen Lacefield, a former student of Brooks.
Friends and colleagues remember his dramatic way of teaching and his passion for life.
"To him, learning and the quest for knowledge was a way of life, it was not just an occupation," Lacefield said. "He tried to gain as much knowledge as he could; he was a very well-rounded person. He had more depth than almost anyone I've ever met."
Brooks loved to pack lecture halls and was interested in his students' lives and readily offered help to them. Many students received his help in graduate thesis or getting into law or medical school.
"He was passionate about taking care of loved ones. I got a lecture every time I talked to him about taking care of my wife," Suchma said. "The music, the literature, the family - those were his big passions."
"He was just so passionate about what he did," said Riley Larson, Brooks' former dog-sitter for his dog, Brisket.
Brooks regularly took his dog to his lectures and was very much a part of his life. Brooks gave Brisket to Larson just before being admitted to the hospital.
Lacefield remembered a specific lecture about Hamlet and the "excess of flesh." She said Brooks would concentrate on these topics because he knew there might be some students with eating disorders who he wanted to help.
Speakers at the memorial service will include students, friends, colleagues and a rabbi of Brooks' faith.
"Heartsease," an old musical ensemble, will be played at the memorial service to music from the Shakespearean period. Brooks played with the ensemble while he was alive.
Students and others wishing to send condolence letters are welcome to do so. The department has asked that they be addressed to his three-year-old son, Judah Rosner.
Killingsworth will collect the notes and deliver them to Judah's mother, Victoria Rosner, who will give them to her son when he is old enough to read them.
In memory
A memorial service is planned for Brooks at the All Faiths Chapel on Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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