Robert Arthur Brooks

Robert Arthur Brooks of Concord, Massachusetts and Stockton Springs, Maine, died on Friday, December 18, at home in the company of his family.

Bob was born in 1936 in Asheville, North Carolina, the only child of Gertrude Rubsamen Brooks and Arthur Clinton Brooks. His father was a member of the faculty at the Asheville School, and Bob grew up on campus and graduated from the school in 1954. He studied English at Harvard University.

After his graduation in 1958, he enlisted in the US Army, attended Army Language School in Monterey, California, and then spent 2 ½ years working as a translator in West Berlin, Germany. While in the service, he married Hester Moore of Squantum, Massachusetts. After Bob's Army service, they lived in Majorca, Spain and Boston, Massachusetts. In 1967, Bob and Hester moved to the Conantum neighborhood of Concord, where they raised three children. Bob and Hester were active members of the community and had deep bonds with many of their Conantum neighbors.

Bob worked as an editor at Bolt, Beranek and Newman in Cambridge for 25 years. He left BBN in 1986 to devote his time to writing. Bob published one children's book, The Run, Jump, Bump Book, and five volumes of poetry: Still in Here Someplace, Three Season Views, Companion Pieces, Unguarded Crossing, and Subverse. Bob volunteered at Emerson Hospital in Concord, and was an dedicated member of the Cambridge poetry group led by Susan Donnelly. Bob was a voracious reader. In addition to books, he loved his family, the coast of Maine, and the Boston Celtics.

He leaves his devoted wife of 56 years, Hester Brooks, and their children and partners: Tansy Brooks and her partners Christopher Brooks and Lauren Winter of Cotati, California; Montserrat Archbald and her spouse Michael Archbald of Whately, Massachusetts; and Nico Brooks and his spouse Polly Dawkins of Boulder, Colorado. He also leaves grandchildren Hattie, Blithe, Jena, and Benjamin, and great-grandchild Ramona.

Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Bob on Saturday, March 26, 2016 from 2:00-4:00 pm at:
The Brooks Family Residence
10 The Valley Road
Concord, MA 01742

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to
Friends of the Concord Free Public Library
126 Main Street
Concord, MA 01742

or your local library.