Brackston T Whitaker

Brack's father drove a truck delivering highway construction materials, so the family of three was constantly on the move. Growing up in various locations across the West, Brack attended multiple grammar schools in Arizona, and lived in a tent while the roads to the Grand Canyon were first being paved. By high school, he reached an agreement with his parents that he could stay in one school all the way through and graduated from Glendale High in 1940. He then attended the University of Arizona on a track scholarship, where he was on the relay team that held the school record for some time, and was also a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. College was put on hold while Brack served in the South Pacific during World War II as a navigator on B-29 bombers stationed at Tinian. Following the war, he returned to the U of A, met and married Jackie, and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Brack began his career building houses and apartments, followed by guniting irrigation canals, and eventually building swimming pools beginning in 1947. Along with Mike Ginter and George Hawke, his business associates since the early 1950s, he went on to develop a very successful swimming pool business which consisted of several different companies, including Fiesta, Biltmore, and Whitaker Pools. By 1975, the companies had built over 5,000 pools and won more creative design awards than anyone in the world (63 at that time). At one point, they had also built more Olympic size pools than anyone else in the country. When Brack sold the business in 1982, the number of international design awards totaled 96. Besides building swimming pools across Arizona, and even as far as Cody Wyoming, Whitaker Pools also built bomb shelters at several Tucson homes and businesses. This was at the height of the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s when Tucson became the home to multiple silos containing Titan II missiles.

Brack was also an inventor who designed, developed, and held several patents to skimmers, filters and retractable pool cleaning systems. In addition, he served as president of the National Swimming Pool Institute (NSPI) and helped develop Aquatech Corporation, which is still nationwide and going strong. He was an avid golfer, fisherman, and hunter, as well as past president of the Tucson Country Club and original member of the Desert Club. He is survived by his son, Brack (Carolyn), daughter Dale Ruedebusch (Terry), 4 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and 2 great great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Jackie. He will be dearly missed. The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Aging Grace Assisted Living and TMC Hospice for all the loving care they provided to Brack. There will be no service.