Ex-NFL player Perry Brooks dies

Bill Brown knew of Perry Brooks' NFL career. The former Hylton football coach also knew Brooks as a person and it's a feeling Brown will never forget.

"He was one of those parents that was very supportive," said Brown, who coached Brooks' sons, Perry Jr. and Ahmad, at Hylton. "He was always so personable. Everything was always positive with Mr. Brooks. He was 100 percent behind us at Hylton."

Brown cherished the friendship he shared with the 55-year-old former Washington Redskin, who died Monday at Sentara Potomac Hospital.

"I always enjoyed the relationship I had with Mr. Brooks," Brown said. "He was a fun guy, so upbeat and always had a smile on his face. My wife is five-foot-one and he was six-foot something. He'd hug her and she would disappear. He was an upbeat person. He was fun to be around."

Perry Brooks played football for Southern University before the New England Patriots selected him in the seventh round of the 1976 draft.

He played for the Redskins from 1977-84 as a defensive lineman. He was a member of two Redskins Super Bowl teams, the first of which was the Redskins win over Miami in Super Bowl XVII.

Brooks' best season came in 1984, when he totaled 5.5 sacks.

After his career ended, Brooks served as a salesman at Cowles Nissan in Woodbridge.

General manager Rick Evans worked with Brooks for 11 years and remembered him as a perfect gentleman.

"Not only was he a large man physically, but he had a heart to match it," Evans said. "He was well-respected and loved not only by the workforce, but many people wanted to come by and talk with him about life and football and the Redskins. He always had the pleasure of people constantly coming by."

Those who talked with Brooks bonded with him.

"They enjoyed his company and conversation," Evans said. "They respected his opinion of things. He had a lot of knowledge with a lot of different topics. He had an opinion and it was normally an informed opinion. He was just a big, lovable man."

Evans said Brooks wore his Super Bowl ring to work, but never boasted about it. He also said Brooks and his wife traveled extensively during football season to watch Ahmad play. Brooks also kept his commitments to signing engagements.

Ahmad graduated from Hylton in 2002 and was the USA Today National Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He was an all-ACC and all-American linebacker at the University of Virginia; he now plays in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers.

Even as Brooks followed his son's pro career, Brown, now the head coach at Colonial Forge, noticed Brooks' personable nature toward Ahmad's high school teammates.

"He was there for any kid that wanted to talk to him," Brown said. "For someone who has done what he's done, he was a person to give ideas to what [kids] wanted to do with their lives. He was always a person that would encourage kids and try to give them direction. He was a resource at any time if our kids needed someone to talk to. He was very unnoticed when he did that."

Besides his two sons, Perry Brooks is survived by his wife, Vergie, and his daughter, Krsunthia Brooks Childs, as well as one granddaughter, four brothers and one sister.

The family will receive friends on Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. at Miller Funeral Home on Golansky Boulevard in Woodbridge.

Funeral services are March 10 and 11 at Wesley Ray United Methodist Church in Angie, La.

The family asks that any arrangements be sent to Crain & Sons Funeral Home at 809 Third Street, Bogalusa, La.

Staff writer Robert Daski can be reached at 703-878-8049.