The memorial service for Mr. Eugene Aycock ‘Gene’ Brooker, 64, of Chapin, will be held on Thursday, May 27, 2010, at two o’clock at St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, 735 Old Lexington Highway, Chapin, with the Rev. Canon J. Philip Purser officiating. Interment will follow in the churchyard. The family will greet friends after the service in the parish hall and invites fellow members of the St. Andrew’s Society of the City of Columbia to serve as honorary pallbearers. Mr. Brooker died Tuesday, May 25, 2010. Memorials may be made to The Citadel Brigadier Foundation, Inc., McAlister Field House, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409, or to the church at P.O. Box 265, Chapin, SC 29036. Born in Columbia, May 13, 1946, to the late Mary Stewart Aycock and Norton William Brooker, Gene grew up in Montgomery, AL, where he graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in 1964. He graduated from The Citadel in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. At The Citadel, Gene was a member of the Junior Sword Drill and served as O Company commander. Following graduation, Gene received a commission in the United States Air Force as a second lieutenant, serving until his honorable discharge as a captain in 1972. During his service, Gene also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of West Florida. In 1972, Gene began his career as a trusted financial advisor with The Robinson-Humphrey Company, which later became Smith Barney, Inc. He graduated from the Securities Industry Institute at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and served as a director of the South Carolina Securities Dealers Association from 1995 to 2004. Gene retired from Smith Barney in November 2004 as a senior vice-president. Gene was an active alumnus and supporter of The Citadel. He served as president of the Columbia Area Citadel Club in 1979. During his lifetime, Gene also served The Citadel Brigadier Foundation as its president, a director, its representative to the Board of Visitors, its representative to The Citadel Foundation’s Board of Directors, and as a longtime member of its General’s Club. Gene received the Southern Conference’s Distinguished Service Award in 2004 for his continued support of The Citadel Brigadier Foundation. Gene also served a six-year term on The Citadel Trust. In 2008, The Citadel awarded Gene an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration for his tireless support of its mission and programs. In the community, Gene served as a director of the Columbia Sertoma Club, Champions of Children’s Hospital, Limitless Sports, and Hammond School. The Columbia Sertoma Club recognized Gene as its Sertoman of the Year in 1987. He served as president of the Hammond Parents Association in 1989 and as president of the St. Andrew’s Society of the City of Columbia in 1999. Until his death, Gene was an active member of St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, currently serving on the vestry and its communications committee. Survivors include his wife, Alice Thomas Lashley Brooker; children, Margaret L. ‘Meg’ Brooker of Austin, TX, Eugene A. ‘Chip’ Brooker Jr. and wife, Rebekah, of Dallas, TX, William A. ‘Tripp’ Lashley III and fiancee, Terri Loraine Vaught, of Huntersville, NC, and Christopher G. ‘Chris’ Lashley of Chapin; grandchildren, William Hutcheson ‘Hutch’ Brooker and Pearson MacDonald ‘Mac’ Brooker of Dallas, TX; and nine nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Gene’s brother, Norton William Brooker Jr. of Mobile, AL, preceded him in death. Shives Funeral Home is assisting the family. ShivesFuneralHome.com 803.754.6290
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