Pete

Brookerd

George (Pete) Blake Brookerd of Thomasville passed away on July 13, 2023. Funeral Services will be held at Thomasville First Baptist Church on Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 3:00 pm with Rev. Paul Ballard officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service from 2:00 pm – 3 :00 pm. Born on April 15, 1933, in Warwick, GA he was the only remaining child of Leonard Alford and Eddie Clyde Brookerd.  He was married to Annie Lois Brookerd; together they had a long and beautiful marriage for 62 years.

After serving in the US Army, he eventually took a job as a USDA meat inspector with Sunnyland Packing Company, and later finished out his 40+ year career at Premium Pork in Moultrie. He loved to fish for red bellies in the Ochlocknee River, as well as speckled trout and redfish in the Aucilla River, which he was quite good at.  No one will ever forget the long night he and Shelly Chastain were fogged in near the mouth of the Aucilla River, the day he fell off the dock in Aucilla, or the time the boat came loose from the truck going about 65 mph.  I'm sure there are many more stories from others that fished with him.  Of equal joy to him were the fish fry's that he loved hosting for his family and friends, especially those that included Ann's two sisters Nita Ponder and Bessie Hewell.  The stories, laughing, and remembrances still resonate to those who remain.  Probably his happiest moments came from his six grandchildren; and he was very proud of them, so much so that the tag on the front of his truck boasted the names of all of them.

He was very much a people person and did not meet a stranger. He loved being a greeter at the front door of the church and did so for many years.  He enjoyed caring for and loving on the people at the nursing homes.  He always loved Ben Force's Sunday School class and if you visited his home, you would always see his Bible, Sunday School books and J. Vernon McGee's commentaries.  He always said, "I know what I believe". I think the apostle Paul finished it for him; "and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day".

Survivors include his children, Blake Brookerd, Keith Brookerd (Lynda) and Lynn Daughtry (Paul).  Grandchildren are Robyn Mixon (Austin), Andrea McCoy, Taylor Brookerd (Savannah), Brandon Roberts (Kellee), Candace Hopkins (David) and Heather Johnson (Jeb).  Great grandchildren are Carson and Brooklyn Mixon, Landon and Chandler McCoy, Ivy, Aidan and Parker Brookerd, Tynlee and Payson Roberts, Walker, Mason and Annie Lynn Hopkins and Cade and Max Johnson. We would like to personally say thank you to the best caregivers we could have hoped for, Deb Hammontree, Veronica French, and Marlene Peachey.  Other local survivors are Bill and Joanne Ponder, Jacqueline Varnedoe, Reese Brookerd, and their family members.