The loss of Randy weighs heavy on the hearts of many. He was not just a member of the Groveland community, but a beloved son, brother, husband and father. His work took him around the nation and he met many people.

He spent many miles on the road, doing the work he liked to do. He loved Groveland, small town life, fishing and classic cars. Randy was kind and always helpful. If he saw you at the local breakfast spot, ran into you grabbing coffee or chatted with you at the post office, he genuinely cared. As a contracted lock­smith, he often got emergency calls for Starbucks and Dollar Tree stores when bathroom door locks or panic hardware went out of commission. One Friday he received a call for the Starbucks in Mammoth Lakes and his service coordinator shared they could table it until Monday. At the time he was in Sacramento and the winter ski season was full throttle. Rather than taking the weekend off, he jumped back in the truck and drove over the pass and south to Mammoth Lakes, reaching the store just before closing and fixed the problem. There was no distance too far for Randy, as he genuinely loved to drive and always touted that he had the best office view. He loved the diverse physical beauty of California and the histories that built it. At the age of 6, his daughter Amber began accompanying him on the road to visit family and stop at jobs along the way. Summers were filled with jaunts across the state and when the phrase “are we there yet” came about, he tossed her the Thomas Guide and said “figure it out”. This blossomed into a love of maps and places between the two of them. When Randy was home, he loved being part of the local community. He never missed a school event and often chaperoned for Amber’s field trips. Sporting events were his favorite and the sound of his turbo diesel truck was always heard pulling into the parking lot at away games. He and Amber followed the school bus home more often than not from soccer games as far as Vacaville and Turlock. He was an avid supporter of all kids on the team and when Randy was in the crowd of spectators, you knew. Randy was also a Girl Scout. At Camp Golden Timbers he taught the girls canoe safety, how to sink and recover a canoe on Pinecrest Lake during the day, and at meal times he washed dishes in the camp kitchen. His camp name “S.O.S” had two meanings: Save-Our-Ship and Suds-On-Service. As the years went on and the Safe moving industry began to fade, fixing door hardware became his trade. He would often share photos of sunsets and continued to play “where am I” with his daughter throughout her college years and career. There wasn’t a week that went by that she didn’t receive a snap shot from along his route. If your porch was in need of repair or you needed a lock changed, he was just a call away – no matter the distance – as he served others first. His final moments were spent instinctively navigating around evening traffic in route to a Starbucks in Fresno, CA. His laugh, inclusive demeanor and giving soul will be forever missed by the family, friends, community and beyond.

Randy was born in Hollywood, California on December 16, 1956, to Arthur and Shirley Brooks. But his city beginnings did not dictate where his roots would take hold. In 1974, he moved from Landers, a desert community, to Groveland with his parents, and two younger brothers to operate the Buck Meadows General Store and Shell Station in the Mobile Home Park of his Grandfather, Vernon Royse. During his Senior year of high school, he would ride the bus for nearly 2 hours across two winding grades to his rural mountain school. Randy and Dennis joined the Sonora High Football team and utilized Randy’s 1968 Burgundy Mus­tang to get to Sonora. It wasn’t long until Randy met Denise Darnaby Brooks, and would eventually marry her in 1979, but first he moved to Southern California to be an apprentice with his Uncle Norman Hill to learn the Locksmithing trade. Shortly later in 1975, he and his father opened their own shop in El Monte, named A&R Safe and Lock, after their names ‘Arthur and Randy’. He loved working with his hands and loved the challenges of getting into things that others could not, such as safes and cars. In 1994, he moved his family back to Buck Meadows so his daughter could be raised in a rural environment and cultivate the love he had for the mountains. Randy loved his trade and excelled at it, but what made him exceptional at his job was his kindness and dedication to helping others in a tough spot. He was always there if someone needed him, whether it was lock related or not. Randy attended the Church of Christ with his grandfather. His faith and the teaching of Christ were an integral part of his life. But nothing made Randy shine brighter than the day his daughter, Amber Nicole Brooks, was born in 1987. He never stopped shining. He was an amazing father to Amber from day one. He took her to her first car show when she was two months old and from there they enjoyed a passion for muscle cars. His pride for her was evident to all that would listen.

Few people know that Randy would bake large batches of chocolate chip cookies when he and his wife of 31 years, Denise Brooks, built and developed Brooks Berry Inn in 1992-2003, now known as Black Berry Inn in Buck Meadows. He was very versatile, he added liquid smoke to the cookies one day instead of va­nilla. He never would live that batch down.

He is survived by his daughter, Amber (Brooks) Wittner and son-in law, Eric Wittner, currently of Los Altos; parents, Arthur and Shirley Brooks of Arcadia; brother, Dennis Brooks and sister-in-law, Anna Brooks, nephew, Austin Brooks, of Glendora; brother, Stephen Brooks, of Arcadia; former wife, and life long friend, Roxanne Denise (Brooks) Adamson, of Anacortes, Washington; sister in-laws, Pam Jenkins of Groveland; Shel­ley Bundy, of Orangevale; and Denell Massey of Tucson, Arizona. Nearly all of which have been Groveland residents at one time or another. He is also survived by his aunts and uncles, Jonnie Rice Reader, of Sonora; Wyatt Reader of Las Vegas, Nevada; Delores and Norman Hill of Covina; Ira Payne of Orangevale; as well as numerous cousins and a myriad of close family like friends. He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Ina Ray Brooks and grandfather, Claude James Brooks of Tennessee, grandmother, Hazel Royse, grandfather, Vernon Royse and second grandmother, Birdie Royse, each of Buck Meadows; father-in-law, Hank Autrey and mother-in-law, Betty Autrey of Big Oak Flat.

Internment will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 25, 2019 at Oak Grove Cemetery, “The Divide Cemetery” aptly laid to rest equidistant between family and friends in Big Oak Flat and Grove­land. A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 26, 2019 at EV Free Church in Groveland. In lieu of flow­ers, donations can be made for end of life expenses via the memorial website GatheringUs.com: www.gatheringus. com/memorial/randbrooks/806 (details available via site, requesting classic car participation).