Drew A. Brooks

Drew Allen Brooks, 62, of Grand Forks, N.D., died Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks surrounded by loved ones and friends.

Drew was born on Nov. 28, 1962, in Crookston, Minn., at Riverview Hospital to Lawrence and Lois Brooks. He was the seventh of nine children born to the family.

The family lived on the south side of Crookston, in a time when it was considered on the outskirts of town. Over the years at home, the family would care for horses, a donkey, rabbits and many more animals. Drew and his brothers kept busy with chores, exploring the nearby woods and Red River of the North and fixing up anything with a motor.

Drew attended Carmen Elementary School before attending high school at Crookston High School, where he played football and enjoyed his shop classes. Drew would later earn a G.E.D. and eventually attend and graduate with a certificate in auto body repair from the Bemidji Area Vocational Institute in the early 1980s.

For the next 40-some years, Drew worked at a number of auto body shops throughout the region, and also owned his own shops. Even when he’d quit work for the day at the shop, he was often working on a car or two at home in his garage or backyard.

Drew was an avid lifetime hunter and angler, having fished and hunted the woods and lakes of northern Minnesota and North Dakota for the past 50 years. He lived to be in the woods on the hunt for a big buck, or on the water trying to snag the next lunker.

Drew will be remembered far and wide for standing up for the underdog, passionately and fiercely protecting and assisting anyone in need, and for living life on his own terms.

Drew’s family began to grow in 1987 when his oldest child, Taushia was born. The following year in 1988, he married Loretta Hasby, Taushia’s mom, and also cared for Loretta’s son, Travis Sorenson, as his own.

Drew was married again in 1996 to Julie Flaten. And he would have two sons, first Drew Jr. in 1996 and then Vincent in 1999. Over the years, Drew also was a father figure to Julie’s other children, Wesley Shoults, Brandi Flaten and Harley Hilde.

Drew is survived by his children, Taushia (David) Henkel-Johnson, Drew Brooks Jr. and Vincent Brooks; grandchildren, Pierce, Aaron, Lilly, Gracie, Damien, Zoey, Aiden, and Bryton.

He also is survived by sisters Deborah Koolstra of McBain, MI, and Laura Sweet of Rockmart, GA; brothers Lonnie Brooks of Crookston, MN, Daren Brooks (Carol Steinhoff) of Crookston, Dustan Brooks of Kindred, N.D., and Devlyn (Shelley) Brooks of Moorhead, MN.; a sister-in-law Teri Brooks of Sauk Centre, MN; cousins Cheri (Scott) Smart and Ida Bubendorf; as well as dozens of nieces and nephews; and many great-nieces and nephews.

Drew was preceded in death by his son, Travis Sorenson; his parents, Lawrence and Lois Brooks, all of his grandparents; two brothers Michael and Daniel; a brother-in-law, David Koolstra, and his special dog Diesel, who was a legend in her own right.

A Gathering of Family and Friends will be Saturday, December 14, 2024, beginning at 12:00 PM, followed by a Celebration of Life at 1:00 PM, in Amundson Funeral Home, Grand Forks, ND. Drew’s burial will take place a later date.

(Korsmo Funeral and Cremation Service, Moorhead, MN and Amundson Funeral Home, Grand Forks, ND.)