George Edward Brooks of Copalis Beach, Washington passed away at the age of 91 on Friday, March 21, 2025.

He is survived by his wife Barbara Jeannette, seven children Roger (Jane) Brooks, Laura (Bryan) Pellegrini, Karen Brooks, Mendora (Lonnie) Kyser, Kezia (Ron) Mullikin, Brian (Danielle) Brooks, Steven (Leslie) Brooks and 25 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren. He was born in Portland Oregon to Lydia and Clarence E. Brooks on Sept. 15, 1933.

George loved photography and relished capturing the beauty of the Pacific Northwest on film. His photos graced the cover and interior pages of the first Ocean Shores and Washington’s Central Coast official visitor’s guide. He also designed and produced a series of photographic greeting cards. By trade, George was an award-winning industrial design engineer, known for his woodworking craftsmanship, manufacturing system development, and artistic pursuits. These pursuits included the crafting of wall clocks, numerous sculpture projects, and the design and development of high-end kitchen cabinets, including the manufacturing systems to produce them. In the early 1970s he was recruited by Northwest Hardwoods in Eastern Washington and commissioned to design, fabricate, and finish a series of beautiful extra-large cribbage and chess game tables.

Nearing the end of his contract there, he was approached by a material recruiter to see if he might enjoy a “change of scenery.” The Canadian government was looking for a furniture design engineer to start up a manufacturing facility in the small town of Hay River in Northwest Territories. The challenge was that workers in Canada are required to be Canadian citizens. However, an exception was made when they discovered George’s grandfather was a French-Canadian fur-trapper and his grandmother of First Nations descent, making him an Métis or part Canadian.

After developing the furniture manufacturing system in Canada, he accepted an engineering job at Magna Design in Lynnwood, Washington. He brought with him the world’s first patented lightweight, indestructible, and mobile curvilinear panels called Versipanel, a simple solution space divider with exceptional sound attenuation — a product he invented and also developed the manufacturing system for. The invention earned him the coveted IBD first place award from the Institute of Business Product Design. It has been featured at Universal Studios (Dr. Seuss and Velociraptor exhibits), IBM, Sharp, Adobe, Hormel Foods, Mitsubishi, Zeiss, the U.S. Army and Navy, Purdue University, Boeing, Coca-Cola, and used in numerous churches, schools, trade-show booths and in offices across the country.

Throughout his distinguished career George earned the respect and trust of many high-profile individuals and companies who offered prestigious commissions to design and fabricate a number of complex projects. One was a commission from the American Heart Association to build a seven-foot tall, soft-to-the-touch, rotating replica of the human heart to be displayed at the Association’s Heart Health Education Center.

George met his childhood sweetheart, (Barbara) Jeannette Christian, in his freshman year at Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon. He worked at her parent’s dry cleaning plant where he was quite the practical joker and prankster. They married young and celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in December of 2024. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints where he served in many leadership callings. He loved music, had a beautiful tenor singing voice, and performed solos at numerous functions, often accompanied on the piano by his wife. We look forward to reuniting with him in the life hereafter. Until we meet again …