Joel Crooks

Joel Keith Crooks recently succumbed to leukemia after treatment in Denver,brColorado and Seattle, Washington. Keith Crooks, the third son of Zonah Crooks ofbrClovis and the late R. E. Tooter Crooks, was bom in Clovis, NM, on February 2,br1950. He graduated from Texico High School in 1967. He served with the U.S. Armybrfrom 1971 to 1974, receiving Air Borne and Long Range Reconnaissance PatrolbrLRRP training; he was stationed in California, Georgia, North Carolina, in Panama atbrthe Jungle Operation Training Center and in Greece with the NATO maneuvers. Asbran Army Sergeant, Keith also was stationed in West Germany.brbrFrom 1975 to 1979, Mr. Crooks worked with the Clovis, NM Police Department. During his time there, he worked as a Patrol Officer, as a Detective, also with SWAT and the DiveSearchRescue Team. Mr. Crooks graduatedgtrom Eastern New Mexico University in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.brbrIn December of 1979, Keith moved to Colorado where he worked with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department as both a Deputy and in Detentions duty. Beginning November, 1979 until his recent battle with leukemia, Keith was prou to be a member of the Aurora Police Department in Aurora, Colorado. During his 23 years there, Keith worked in the Patrol unit, Narcotics unit, was promoted to Sergeant in September 1989, and continued his police career as a Field Training Sergeant and Patrol Sergeant.brbrIn June 1996, Mr. Crooks became a born-again Christian and subsequently made five mission trips with Peace Officers for Christ and Calvary Chapel organizations to Russia; while there, he visited the cities of Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryzan, Sochi and St. Petersburg. Sergeant Crooks also served with the Chaplains organization of Aurora Police Department as a Chaplain Liason officer for nined years. Keith and his wife, Lynne Parker Crooks, were married in 1999. Mrs. Cooks continues to serve with the Aurora Police Department as a Police Chaplain.brbrIn addition to his Mother, Zonah, and his wife, Lynne, Mr. Crooks is survived by two sons, John Gregory III Cody, WY, and David Gregory Lakewood, CO, and a daughter, Paula Fritzsche Pagosa Springs, CO. Mr. Crooks' two brothers are Aryle Crooks wife, Margie of Texico, and Paul Crooks wife, Roxie of Lubbock, TX. Mr.brCrooks was also proud to claim Karis and Cole Fritzsche, Rachel and Benjamin Gregory as his four grand-children.brbrMemorial Services will be held for Sergeant Crooks on April 28, 2005 in Aurora, Colorado, at Colorado Community Church-Aurora. Grave side services will be private.brbrMr. Crooks' family in Texico is planning an additional Memorial service to be held locally for relatives and friends in the ClovisTexico, NM and TX areas. The service will be held on May 3, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Texico.brbrThe family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Mr. Crooks' memory to Cops Fighting Cancer, co Officer Jim Seneca, Aurora Police Department, 15001 East Alameda, Aurora, CO 80012, or to the: LeukemiaLymphoma Society, Rocky Mountain Chapter, 5353 West Dartmouth Avenue, Denver, Colorado, 80277.