KOROIT is mourning the loss of one of its most colourful personalities with the passing of Tommy Brooks. Mr Brooks died on Sunday, aged 76.The list of Mr Brooks’ community involvement is an extensive one, leaving his mark on various aspects of life in the town. For more than 50 years, Mr Brooks teamed with close friend Frank “Tuddy” Bowman to entertain audiences with their own take on country and Irish music favourites. They were joined in 1997 by Irish-born Mick Morgan, with the trio becoming Tommy, Tuddy and Mick. In 2014, they were chosen as the inaugural Koroit Irish Festival Artist of the Year. Mr Bowman said he had many great memories of Mr Brooks. “We played all over the district, pubs, parties, nursing homes, the Irish festival, it was great fun,” he said. “Tommy did a lot for the town, he was involved in a lot of things and had a great family.” Koroit Irish Festival president and close family friend Chris Evans described Mr Brooks as a “Koroit legend”. “Tommy was just an amazing person, he had a big influence on generations of Koroit people,” Mr Evans said. “He was very much a community leader and was larger than life. He is a huge figure in the history of the football club and apart from this year when he was ill, he performed at every Koroit Irish Festival since it started.” Mr Brooks was a life member of the Koroit Football Netball Club, serving as club president from 1983-87. He coached the club’s juniors for many years and also the under 18 team in 1978-79, reaching the grand final in both years. He was also a lead member of the team that delivered bingo at the clubrooms every Thursday night for many years, which was one of the club’s major fundraising avenues. Mr Brooks and his late wife Jan had six children, with the family income generated from Brooks Motors Garage in Koroit’s main street. Mr Brooks operated the garage for 30 years before retiring in 2015. Mr Brooks was also a member of the Koroit Bowls Club, and a former member of the Koroit Lions Club and Koroit CFA.
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