One of the best men I ever met.  It was an honor to work with him, have him guest lecture, and share laughs over lunch.  He will be deepky missed and God Bless his family.

I have already put some notes in for memories of Herr Brockmann, but wanted to share a bit more.  When I shared his obituary on Facebook, my granddaughter commented.  She graduated from Jackson High School in 2019, she said that she had him as a substitute teacher a few times and loved him & the stories that he would share.  Such a legacy indeed, so glad that she was also able to have a part of him in her schooling as well.  So very blessed to have known such an amazing man!

Also thank you for sharing all of the wonderful pictures of him.  He always had that infectious smile.  If you were having a bad day, his smile would make it into a good day.  I strive to do the same, a shared smile goes a long way!

I met Ernie Brockman at Cascade High School, He was already retired when I started 20 years ago, but like all dyed-in-the-wool teachers, he kept coming back. The students adored him. He would tell the most amazing stories about his life--about his childhood and surviving war, about his young adulthood and starting businesses, about his retirement and his travels. He might even offer a brief dissertation on the ideal way to grow tomatoes. His stories were always the kind we like to hear, stories of victory over tribulations, of the invincible resiliency of a positive outlook, of good people doing good works and looking for good in others. There were no villains in his stories--just people doing the best they could in difficult circumstances. People are wrong when they say the 'good die young.' I think that sometimes the good hang out here a long time and teach as many of us as they can by example. Ernie Brockman has been an unforgettable teacher. 

Dear Ernie, we miss you so much. We miss your radiance, the calmness you radiated, your modesty. You could tell such wonderful stories. We miss our extensive conversations at our home, especially at breakfast. Unforgotten is also the trip with us brothers Heinz and Jürgen to Wilhelmshaven, Rosenheim to Klaus and Lotte or to Puste in Bavaria. You were always grateful for the little things in life.  Dear Ernie, you will remain forever in our hearts until we will hopefully meet again one day. In love, Jürgen and Edith

Mr. Brockmann lit up every room he walked into to. When your class got him as a substitute you knew it was going to be a great day. My thoughts go out to his family; My deepest condolences for your loss. 

Wow.  Great memorial! I loved Ernie for many of the qualities you all did. A memory I had was his toughness. He and Bryan and I hiked Mt pilchuck with much of the route in feet of snow. It was tiring and cold and I think Ernie was in his late 70’s. Stud!

I got to know Ernie through NCC where he was one of the head ushers. I typically could not find him to see if we were all set for church. When I did find him, he was engaged in a major conversation either on life, and experience or some amazing story that captivated his audience. I would find myself getting caught in his stories and realized he had lived in a time in history I pray we never see again. I lost my father early and Ernie was about the same age. It was always great to see him Sunday mornings. He would greet you with a solid handshake and was eager to encourage you. I will never forget the time he shared about his time growing up in Nazi Germany. His eyes would begin to swell with tears as he reflected back to a past we could not even fathom. He always finished his stories with a grateful heart and giving God the glory. He leaves behind an amazing family legacy. Am so sad that he is gone yet I know heaven got a great one :). 

Nooooooo!!! He was definitley the best substitute teacher in the Everett School District a boy could have. This guy always told us stories about how he and his family lived in Germany when the Third Reich was happening he even knew my grandfather who had passed away. I just found out he passed away today. Today's going to be a really sad day. He was nothing but nice and sweet to everyone he came into contact with. Everett lost a great man in Mr Brockmann . He always had a story to tell and would cheer you up with his positivity on your worst day. Everyone would always get super excited when we heard he was going to be our sub for the day. Wish I could've went to his Funeral but times are tough right now with all this Covid stuff. If anyone knows where he was buried and would message my email at swishythegod@gmail.com that would be amazing for me to go have a moment with him. Rest In Paradise

It was Christmas 2016, Opa always gave each grandchild $50 for their gift.  This was such a big splurge and such a generous gift and we were all so thankful and appreciative for it each year.  But, this Christmas, Opa had something a little different up his sleeve.  He told everyone to sit down and gather around.  He was so animated and giddy with excitement with a twinkle in his eye, we were wondering what was going to happen.  He went and fetched the present.  He came down the stairs (this was at my parents house) with a giant 5 lb Hershey’s bar.  This thing was bigger than an 11x8 sheet of paper, were talking, HUGE!.  He was so excited, he ripped it open and pulled out a hammer.  He came down hard on the bar as if he was butchering a cow, wide eyed and grinning.  He started chucking pieces of chocolate across the room at each one of us all done “macht schnell” ship shape. Chop! Chuck! Chop! Chuck! By this time we are all rolling on the ground laughing.


-Jacob Brockmann (grandson)

It was the summer of 2002; my parents, me, Nate, Omi and Opa were all in the motor home on the way down the Oregon coast to stay with Harvey and Sylvia.  Opa was driving, with my dad in the passenger seat and the rest of us on the couch and dinette.  We had just turned off highway 101 near Gold beach to drive the 15-20-minute climb up a curvy mountain road to get to Harvey and Sylvia’s property.  We were all laughing and having a good time.  We decided to make bets to see what time we would arrive.  I remember that Nate’s guess was 1 minute after Opa’s guess.  One by one everyone’s guesses of arrival passed and then it was down to Opa and Nate.  At this point, Opa was already driving exceptionally faster and faster by the second, roaring around the mountain curves in a 27-foot motor home.   With only 1 minute until Opa’s guess, he started madly swerving around the corners, barely on two wheels around every bend.  Oma was in the dinette yelling frantically “Ernie!!” “Ernie!!” "ERNIE!!"  Opa was hunched over the wheel with a big determined smile on his face chuckling, "hehehehe" saying, “I still have one more minute”.  By this time, we were all screaming.  When the minute changed, and in realizing he hadn’t reached the destination, he eased up on the gas and we all sighed in relief and made sure we were all still in one piece.  We have laughed about this story on countless occasions ever since and thank God that we all survived!

-Jacob Brockmann (grandson)