Robert J. “Bob” Brookover was born Feb. 24, 1928 in Eureka, to Marjorie and Harrison Brookover. Bob passed away April 18, 2025 in Ft. Collins, Colo.
Bob graduated from Eureka High School and Kansas State University, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. After college, Bob married his college sweetheart Janet Jan” Merridith on Jan. 27, 1952 in Topeka. After the wedding, Bob moved to England as a Lieutenant in the Air Force where he ran a commissary. Jan followed Bob to Bury St. Edmunds, England, where they started their family in 1953. During their year in England, they both grew to love
traveling, resulting in many trips and adventures around the U.S. and world throughout their 70 years of marriage.
Bob and Janet returned to live in Eureka, where they continued growing their family. Bob worked at Brookover Grocery with his dad, Harrison. They enjoyed a great life in Kansas surrounded by family: parents, Bob’s brothers, aunts, uncles, niece, nephews, and cousins, instilling a deep love for family and Kansas in their children. In the mid 1960s, Bob brought the family to Ft. Collins, Colo. He went on to work as the Assistant Director of the Lory Student Center and was a partner in The Flower Company in Campus West from 1983 to 1997. He volunteered at the Ft. Collins Visitors Center and was a member of Rotary. Bob enjoyed CSU football and basketball, holding season’s tickets for many years.
In retirement, Bob and Jan enjoyed a home in Sun Lakes, Ariz. and cultivated more friends and hobbies that kept them young well into their 80s. These included golfing, exploring Arizona, dancing to Big Band groups in their neighborhood clubhouse, and hosting parties on their patio. Bob also took up oil painting and continued his love of gardening in both Arizona and Colorado.
Bob will be remembered for his love of sports, competing in the Sr. Olympics in Arizona, and completing the Bolder Boulder, once with his daughter, Kathi; dancing with Janet in their various kitchens and later at family weddings. He’ll be remembered for his love of wine on his patios in Ft. Collins and Sun Lakes with neighbors and friends; his fish fries of Colorado caught trout for his Arizona neighbors; his ability to gather friends wherever he went; his joy in spending time with those friends and his three generations of family; his kindness and the sound of his laughter.
Bob is survived by his daughters, Kris (Dan) Colwell, Kathi (Mark) Delehoy, and Kari (Don) Maher; grandchildren, Becky (Jerry) Bases, Kim (Vance Stolz) Colwell,
Brooke (Jason) Lee, Kurt (Jill) Delehoy, Sofia (Nate Frucht) Maher and Emilie Maher; and seven great grandchildren.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents Harrison and Marjorie, his brothers Harrison and Mason and his wife Jan. As a family, we were blessed with Dad’s love of family, his positive outlook, his generosity, his humor and his zest for life.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 o’clock Aug. 2, 2025 at Allnutt Funeral Service - Drake Road Chapel for Bob and his wife, Janet, who passed in February
2022 during Covid restrictions. Thank you to Pathways Hospice for their care these last 14 months. Donations in Bob’s honor can be made to Pathways Hospice Care Center, 305 Carpenter Rd, Fort Collins, Co 80525 or at https://pathways-care.org/give-now/.
