Roll Call Tribute

Jeffrey Brooks Bell (’99), Brooks to his friends, unexpectedly passed away in his sleep at his home in Trophy Club, Texas, on Friday, July 10, 2020. He was 43.

Brooks grew up in Garrison, a small town in East Texas, where, as a young man, he played baseball and spent summers taking short vacations with his family. Growing up, he and his sister Ginger developed a bond that could only occur between siblings. Brooks graduated from Garrison High School and enrolled at Panola College before moving to College Station to complete his degree in Computer Science at Texas A&M University. While attending A&M, Brooks became president of GLBTA, a student organization, where he met his future partner, Larry Ross (’96 and ’98).

After graduating, Brooks moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where he took a job with Lockheed Martin. He spent his entire, tragically short, 19-year career with Lockheed in defense contract software engineering. Shortly after moving, Brooks and Larry rekindled their friendship, which soon became a relationship that flourished for almost 18 years. Brooks and Larry eventually settled down and purchased a home in Trophy Club, where they have lived for the past nine years, rescuing and spoiling many dogs together.

Brooks lived an amazing and fulfilling life. He enjoyed following sports of all kinds but especially loved the frustrating act of watching Aggie football. He found great joy in traveling with those he cared about, usually going to Mexico every summer, sometimes with large groups of friend and family, and sometimes just him and Larry. He enjoyed good wine and great food, travelling to Northern California each fall, eating, drinking, laughing, and sometimes crying with friends. His pride in being an Aggie was usually on display when travelling, as he often sported A&M attire and always wore his ring.

Brooks appreciated how fortunate he was to have the life he did, and understood that not everyone was as fortunate. Brooks adored his family and especially loved his niece and nephew. He was a fiercely loyal friend but, like any true friend, would not hesitate to be brutally honest with you. He felt passionately about many things and would follow their details closely. There was not a current topic you could not discuss with him, and while sometimes those discussions would turn into arguments, those arguments usually ended up in laughter over something completely unrelated and the argument forgotten. His absence will leave a void in the hearts of everyone who knew him, but their lives will be better for having had him in it.

Brooks is survived by his best friend and life companion, Larry Ross of Trophy Club, Texas; father, Melvis Bell and wife, Terrie of Garrison, Texas; mother, Rhonda Watkins Brown of Nacogdoches, Texas; sister, Ginger Gibson and husband, Mark of Garrison, Texas; niece, Carah Gibson and nephew, Chanler Gibson of Garrison, Texas; as well as several aunts, uncles, and cousins that were very dear to him.