Longtime LV contractor Brookman dies at 86

Monday, April 18, 2005 | 8:32 a.m.

George Brookman prided himself on being a straight shooter.

Whether it was defending his country in combat in the South Pacific during World War II, building businesses and homes in Southern Nevada, giving advice to Gov. Mike O'Callaghan, a longtime friend, or winning a bunch of marksman medals at the Senior Olympics, Brookman was on target.

"He was a quiet, backbone kind of guy -- the wind beneath many people's wings," said longtime friend Kerin Rodgers. "George was responsible for sending dozens of kids to college and was always willing to fund causes that helped families in crisis or those in need."

Brookman, whose Brookman Construction Co. built the Silver Nugget in North Las Vegas and the exhibit hall at the old Dunes hotel, as well as motels, banks, churches and private homes throughout the valley, died Friday of congestive heart failure at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. He was 86.

Services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Palm Mortuary-Downtown.

Brookman, a Las Vegas resident of 52 years, also was the widower of former eight-term Assemblywoman Eileen Brookman who, like O'Callaghan, died last year.

"George and Mike were each other's confidantes," said Brian O'Callaghan, son of Mike O'Callaghan -- the Sun's longtime chairman. "They traveled to Israel together and worked on maintaining tanks.

"When my dad was governor and traveled to Las Vegas, he stayed at George and Eileen Brookman's home. They made him feel as though it was his home. The Brookmans took care of many people in this town. They looked after the little people -- the people who most needed assistance."

Born Oct. 5, 1918, in New York, George Brookman early on moved with his family to Southern California. He joined the National Guard shortly after graduating from high school in 1936.

Shortly after joining the Los Angeles Police Department, he was called to active duty in 1941, the year he married Eileen.

In April 1942, Brookman was sent to officer candidate school and later joined the 40th Division in New Caledonia as a captain and platoon leader in a rifle company.

He participated in the landings at Luzon, Panay and Negros in the Philippines. Brookman received a Bronze Star and medals for the three assault landings.

After the war, Brookman returned to the LAPD, but opted to quit and join his brother and father in the building industry after a former partner was killed while attempting to stop a robbery.

The Brookmans moved to Las Vegas in 1953. He bought a small motel on Boulder Highway, renamed it the Brookman Motel, and also worked as a carpenter. In 1959, he sold the motel and became a construction contractor.

On May 19, 1976, Brookman earned his associate of arts degree from the Community College of Southern Nevada.

In more recent years Brookman competed in the local Senior Olympics in pistol shooting, earning several medals.

Brookman's wife, Eileen, served 16 years in the Legislature between 1967 and 1990, resigning to care for the couple's son, Michael, who at the time was a heart-transplant recipient. Michael died in 1995. Eileen died last July.

Brookman is survived by a daughter, Deborah Brookman, of Las Vegas; a brother, Robert Brookman of California; and a sister, Myrna Goldman of California.