Anthony Shane Brooks

Hoover

Anthony Shane Brooks, age 39, of Hoover died in an automobile accident on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Anthony was a member of the First Baptist Church of Jasper. He attended Pelham High School and graduated in Anchorage, Alaska from Bartlett High School in 1991.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, the honorable Jack Lauderdale and wife Fayrean Lauderdale of Haleyville and Clarence and Maggie Brooks of Double Springs. Survivors include one son, Anthony “Corban” Brooks; one daughter, C.J. Brooks; mother, Sheila Brooks; brother, Jonathan Brooks; step-dad, Richard Wann of Wilsonville; father, Tony Brooks; wife, Jewel Brooks; and brother Anthony Brooks of Hot Springs, Ark., as well as sisters, Ginger Wann of Atlanta, Ga., and Traci Daugherty of Jasper.

Anthony was buried April 6, 2011 in Bear Creek, next to his grandfather, Jack Lauderdale, who served two terms in the Alabama House of Representatives. Anthony filed many patents, loved politics and qualified and ran as a write-in candidate for governor of Alabama in the last two elections. He also worked to promote local bands and make videos. He was a “huge” Auburn fan who loved to watch and attend the games.

His children were the sunshine in his life, and he considered them his two greatest accomplishments. He had lunch with them Saturday morning and was coming back to pick them up at the Galleria around 3:30 p.m. when he lost his life in the automobile accident. Anthony dealt with mental illness for over half his life. He worked tirelessly fighting for the poor, incarcerated and mentally ill, those few he felt were not represented fairly in the judicial system. He was often criticized and mocked by people in the judicial and legal system who did not believe or understand his mental illness. His beaming personality and smiling face will be missed by all who loved and knew him. His family is comforted in his death by the belief that he has finally found forgiveness, peace and love in a God who understands the struggles he endured in life due to mental illness.