John Brooks Cargile

John Brooks Cargile, 64, passed away from a heart attack on Friday, October 6, 2017, in San Antonio, TX. He was born on March 31, 1953, to Gus Cargile, Jr. and Ada Hughs Gary Cargile in Corpus Christi, TX. Brooks was a lifelong resident of Corpus Christi. He graduated from W.B. Ray High School in 1971. Before starting his own businesses, Brooks worked at Industrial Fabricators and Corpus Christi Gold Mine. In the 1980's, he started selling guns, jewelry, and other collectibles with his dad at Saxet Trade Shows across the state. This venture led to Brooks owning and operating the Saxet Gun Shop for many years. Another business of his was A Vision for You Telescopes that provided telescopes on the Corpus Christi t-heads. Brooks traveled both the country and the world often with his dad, Gus. Their adventures included trips to Africa, China, and Thailand. Brooks loved to hunt and fish. His other hobbies also included collecting firearms, jewelry, and vintage Rolexes. Brooks was a charter member of the Corpus Christi Gun Club. Brooks' gun business that became such a big part of his life started rather simply from an afternoon spent with his dad. He was visiting and looking at some guns that his dad, Gus, had recently purchased. Brooks was instantly drawn to a Remington 51 and offered to buy it from his dad. His dad gave it to him and that started Brooks' interested in collecting guns, particularly Remington 51s. Brooks and his dad traveled all over the state and country visiting auction and estate sales building their collections together. This also led to Brooks discovering more about the gun he loved. He started collecting long before the Internet, so he built a quite profound knowledge base based on books and his personal collection. Brooks only learned that the Remington 51 came apart the way it did after he bought one that came with paperwork. The main feature that drew him to this gun was the way that it felt when he held it. When he was interviewed about his collection, Brooks pointed out that Remington's 1921 slogan for the 51 was that "it fits in the palm of your hand like a friend." There was more to Brooks than collecting guns. In the mid-1980's, Brooks began his journey to sobriety. He was deeply committed to this endeavor and diligently attended AA meetings for the rest of his life. Brooks recently had received his 30-year pin in recognition of his success with his sobriety. It is unknown how many people he possibly helped by sharing his story and being a support system in their fight for sobriety; we just know that it was extremely important to him. Brooks’ family is extremely proud of his success with his sobriety. Brooks was deeply attached to his family and made spending time with his family a priority in his life. He did not have children of his own but was a wonderful uncle to ten nephews, two nieces, four grand-nephews, and one grand-niece. Brooks' fun side would come out at family gatherings where he would try to get the younger members of the family involved in a prank or something mischievous. Only Brooks could get everyone to hold hands knowing that they were going to shocked when someone pulled the lever on "the" slot machine at Grandfather's house. He rarely missed celebrating any of the birthdays, graduations, weddings or any other life events of his nieces and nephews. Brooks also was a mentor to his nephews and other boys at the gun shows. He would teach them the art of negotiating and about guns while they worked with him behind his tables. If you knew Brooks, one of your best memories is probably of his laugh because of a joke or story he was telling you. He often would break into fits of laughter before he finished the story as he was easily amused life's little snafus. Brooks' laugh was unique and special. It would take over his body causes his eyes to squint, his head to get thrown back, and his unique boyish chuckle would dominate the room. Naturally, he loved comedies. Brooks was also a huge fan of Western movies as well. Brooks loved celebrating birthdays, especially that of his dads. When his dad was turning 80, he spent months collecting notes and signatures from anyone who had ever met his dad. On the birthday cruise, Brooks presented his dad with a leather-bound book of what he gathered. When his dad was turned 90, Brooks gave his dad a special gun (need info about the gun). When his dad turned 95, Brooks helped planned a surprise entertainer, a custom cookie favor, and expressed his concerns about what would be on the dessert table. He did not cook anything but made sure that his sister had pecans and other supplies to make something in his name. Brooks had a wonderful time that evening and spent hours greeting and welcoming people to the celebration of his dad's 95th birthday. After an illness last fall, Brooks had spent the last eleven months regaining his spark and stamina. He had made great strides and was back setting up at the gun shows regularly. On his last day, Brooks had a wonderful lunch with his dad and spent the afternoon interacting with his family and friends at the show while he set up his tables. Everyone who talked to him that day remarked about how wonderful he was doing. Brooks was predeceased by his mother, Ada Hughs Gary Cargile, and his sister, Gary Cargile Homan. He is survived by his father, Gus Cargile, Jr., his sisters, Laura Cargile, Caroline Cargile, Mary Claire Carr, and Ada Beiter (Todd), his brother, Gus Cargile III (Gail), his brother in law, Lester Homan, and his nephews and nieces. Brooks was a wonderful son, brother, uncle, and friend that will be missed by many. Much like the slogan for his favorite gun, Brooks just fit quite perfectly in your heart as a friend.