Best teacher I ever had! I was a student of his for 3 years at Cascade. Just found out tonight that he's no longer with us :( The German that I learned back then from him was the foundation for what turned out to be a lifelong love of the German language. I always thought about contacting him and showing him how far my German progressed since I was his student at Cascade. For some reason, I thought he would have been proud of me. Thank you, Herr Brockmann.


Lieber Herr Brockmann,
So viele Erinnerungen, die jetzt wie Hochwasser durch meine Gedanken fluten. Was kann ich sagen? Als ich ein junger Mann war, hattest du mich so beeinflusst, dass ich die deutsche Sprache gerne gelernt hat. Eigentlich lerne ich noch, wie immer. Es war und ist eine lebenslange Leidenschaft. Ich habe auch in Deutschland studiert, und habe immer an dich gedacht. Vielen Dank für alles mein Lieblingslehrer. Ich werde dich nie vergessen! Rühe in Frieden.

MfG,

Im Jahre 2003 hatte ich die Möglichkeit, Ernie das erste Mal kennen zu lernen. Es war im Rahmen eines Schüleraustausches zwischen der Cascade Highschool und dem Wolkenberg-Gymnasium Michendorf in Deutschland. Schnell haben wir uns angefreundet und es kam bei einer Tasse Kaffee zu einem regen Gedankenaustausch. Das wiederholte sich alle zwei Jahre bis 2015. Ernie gab mir einen tiefen Einblick in das Leben der US Amerikaner und er konnte mir viele Fragen beantworten. Gestern erhielt ich die Nachricht, dass Ernie von uns gegangen ist. Ich wünsche Dir alles Gute bei Deiner nächsten Reise. Sollte ich nochmals nach Everett kommen, wirst Du mir fehlen.

I work in the office at Cascade and loved seeing Ernie for a hug. It was always like catching up with an old friend. Ernie loved his coffee and I was always happy to help him find his cup a joe! After school we would talk about where we were heading, was it Trader Joe's? Costco? Home to see our honey? I am going to miss him a lot. I am glad to know his last days were so happy and spent with the people he loved most! May we all be so blessed! 

To live is Christ. To die is gain. Ernie has gained all.
I came back from Germany in 1991 after a year living with a host family there. I was a hotheaded 18-year-old. Ernie helped me not only to proofread a letter I had written, but to change the letter to express more gratitude and less complaints.  Ernie was peaceful, gracious....and wise.

I'm still in touch with that family.

Thank you, Ernie.

He was a wonderful teacher and soul! So inspirational!! Always had a smile on his face and a kind word for you. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. My heart goes out to all the friends and family of Herr Brockman.

Ernie was a gift of light and joy. Whether it was a greeting or a story, he always made you feel good because he radiated hope and focused on what was good in life. He was truly special and while he will be missed, memories of him will bring comfort.

My condolences to the family. My memories of Ernie revolved around my time at church, celebrations, birthdays and anniversary times. You could not be around him without recognizing the quiet calm and insight that he projected. As a young man, I looked forward to the wisdom that he shared and the sincerity in how he shared it. I was richer every time we saw each other. At this moment, he is soooo very happy that he's with
his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

How wonderful it was to know JoAnn and Ernie Brockman and 3 of their 4 children at BCA. He and I had a joint German heritage and I felt like I had another brother. He and JoAnn always greeted me warmly and I will always cherish their friendships. Gone for now, but looking forward to a reunion in heaven. Auf Wiedersehen.

He was one of my favorite teachers at Cascade. He always made us laugh and listening to his stories of his youth were amazing. 20+ years later I saw him at Northshore Christian Church and he remembered me, even my German name for class. He was so loved and will be missed.

Herr Brockmann.

To this day, I hear your voice in my head, "Nach einmal" and " Angenehmes Wochenende." I also remember talking with you many times at Bethany Temple. You were always so kind to my grandmother Ahlberg - despite her Swedish heritage. 

Rest in the Lord.

Sincerely,

Bernd Wittelsbach (i.e. Brent Cantley

I was privileged enough to have Herr Brockmann as one of my substitute teachers during my time at Jackson High School. Herr Brockmann captivated a class like no other substitute teacher could -- his stories of war and his life in Germany commanded the attention of every student in the room. Though soft-spoken, he had an incredibly big heart that made everyone in class adore him. Thank you, Ernie, for making our world a better place.

Herr Brockmann was my German teacher at Cascade from 1989-1991. I loved his class and the opportunity to learn a language that was so different from the Spanish and French my friends were learning.  It was amazing to hear his stories and he was a wonderful and kind man. I also loved that he was one of the only people who could pronounce my name as it was meant to be! Dankeshön Herr Brockmann.

Herr Bockmann was my German teacher at Everett High about 1970-1972. He was the best teacher I ever had, and influenced my work as a professor later. He invited students to join him at Bethany Christian and influenced my faith. He took us on a trip to Leavenworth for Oktoberfest, and encouraged us to cook German cuisine for class. When my friend, Colleen Leinau, said she had met and married a former German teacher in Everett, I said, I had a teacher, Herr Brockmann. She said, that's him! I hope I get to meet him again some day. Rest in peace Herr Brockmann. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Herr Brockmann was an amazing teacher and man. He was larger than life and had a smile for all. I felt honored to have had him as a teacher at Everett High School, with many fond memories. I would run into him from time to time after graduation and he always remembered me and we would chat for a bit. He will be missed by many, but I will see him again! RIP Herr Brockmann you were one of a kind!

My high school German teacher, good friend and brother in the Lord who touched many lives for Jesus. Sorry to see you leave this life but one day I'll see you in the next! 

Ernie was such a wonderful man. He always had a smile on his face when I would greet him for the 11:00 o'clock service after I was an usher at the 9:00 o'clock one. I shall miss seeing him very much. Ernie always wanted to help others and he did with just his smile.
My prayers are with all of Ernie's wife Colleen and his family members.

Our hearts are broken to hear of our dear friend, Ernie. Sending our deepest condolences to his beautiful wife& family and keeping you all a priority in our prayers. Sunday service will never be the same without him ..... let’s face it the world will never be same without him .Always gracious, always kind, always loving. There is no greater compliment in my opinion that could ever be given than this : he was the most Christ like person I know. Him & pastor Paul. Thankful to have had the pleasure to know him. And honored to call him Our beloved friend . And wow he gets a A for penmanship !! Truely the most beautiful I have ever seen !! We will miss you Ernie , Love you Forever . - Rick & Stacia Thornton

Words can not convey all I feel. The blessing of knowing Ernie, the gratitude of my dearest friend Colleen knowing what true love is in this wonderful man. His smiling acceptance of his wife's crazy friend and laughing and embracing their antics. Wishing for the last visit that didn't occur, wanting to take away the grief of my dear friend. Ernie and Colleen strengthened my faith and ability to be a more open witness. As Colleen always said, " The world would be a better place if there were more Ernie Brockmanns!" Condolences. 

Our family is truly sorry for the passing of your wonderful “Ernie.” We sure wished we could have been able to visit him, pray for him, smile at him, hold his hand, embrace him with a huge hug, and tell him how much we love him! We would have told him how much, “we look forward to being with him in Heaven in the presence of our Heavenly Father.”. 

Dear Ernie, I remember when I first met you at church. We instantly clicked knowing we both came from Europe. I know it was deeper than that, though, your love for people came from God, His Spirit, and He was the one that truly drew us to each other. You were always so interested in knowing how we were doing and checking on us at church. We loved seeing you at church and getting our hugs from you and hearing your stories. We look forward to reuniting with you and our loved ones, in Christ, that have gone before us. We are going to have all of eternity to catch up and worship God together! 

“Well done good and faithful servant.”

We love you, Ernie! See you in Heaven! 

The Winecoff Family
(Steve, Natalia, Cristina, & Andrew)
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

We lived in the neighbor hood corner of baring way, my sister Lisa and I went to school with Brenda . Mr Brockman was such a good man he always had a smile and something nice to say. He was an amazing teacher he was a beautiful human being. Gods speed . To his family so sorry for your loss.

Mr Brockman, by far the best sub teacher ever known! If I walked into class and saw you, I knew we would have the best day. You never made us do any school work, but still taught us through your stories and experiences. You will be so dearly missed. R.I.P ❤️

Mr. Ernie ~ I have had the honor of knowing Ernie from days at Cascade and Jackson High School. He always had a smile for me and a kind word to always make my day! He made me feel like he cared for me as a daughter - no matter how long in between visits or a passing in the hall! Such a genuine soul and kind, caring man - You will be missed sweet friend! Heaven is rejoicing!

We were neighbors, just 2 houses apart on Goblin lane, and I was in Ernie's class in 1993. Awesome and warm person. He would always wave with a huge smile as drove by the house.
So glad to have known him, and glad he is in the best of hands with his Savior.

Herr Brockmann was truly like no other teacher. He often subbed for many of my classes, particularly German, at Cascade High School when I was there from 2008-2012. Always loved to hear all his stories and wisdom. Every time Frau Lockwood would tell us she was getting a sub the whole class would unanimously shout "Herr Brockmann! Herr Brockmann!" because of how much we loved him and his stories.

We'll all miss you dearly, Herr.

Mr Brockmann subbed in my classroom many times at Henry M Jackson and he came in on days we were talking of the second war.
Any time he walked into our class we knew it was going to be a good period, we clapped for him and begged him for stories and he always delivered. Every word he spoke left us at the edge of our seats.
I remember shaking his hand and thanking him for all that he has done, and he was so sweet and humble.

Herr Brockman was truly an amazing man and I only knew this through the stories he would tell and they way he would teach. I knew him briefly from 2000-2004 my high school years at Cascade High school in Everett. Frau Lockwood would have him substitute. Honestly the two of them together were so fun if he ever stopped by to say hi whether he was teaching or not. You sometimes forget life or school when 16+ years have passed but he is as fresh memory that comes back so easily. A remarkable man who lived an amazing and full life. Prayers for the family.

Much Love to my neighbor, as I grew up on Goblin Lane. And how much I loved your stories when you subbed in my German class at Cascade High, grad year 96. This is from Tara Chowen. To your whole family, may love & memories hold you close and comfort you.

Herr Brockman was my teacher for 3 years at Cascade High. He was a great teacher and storyteller. Such a wonderful man. He went on to teach my son too. Rest in love Herr Brockman.

Ernie, you were always a man of honesty and humbleness, you always had the greatest stories and were such a pleasure to have sub in many of my classes, you always cared about everyone and loved seeing people succeed,

Rest In Peace Ernie, you were truly a legend.

Herr Brockmann came in sometimes to substitute my high school German class at Jackson High School. Each and every day he was there, he regaled us with stories of his amazing life, and everyone listened as intently as we could. My friends and I in the graduating class of 2016 are now adults out of college, but I know we would all return to high school in a heartbeat if Herr Brockmann was there.

I have never before nor since had the privilege of meeting someone so kind and open. I have pictures of his handwriting saved to my phone because of how beautiful and intricate it was. Every aspect of him was full of life and color and care. He was truly one of my fondest memories from that time. His memory will not fade in the hearts of those who had the privilege to meet him and hear him speak. I send my love to his family.

Thank you, Herr, Brockmann, for being a part of our story.

I’ll always treasure the memories I have listening to this wise man. It was always truly a gift to walk into class and be greeted with his warm smile and a ticket to an enthralling tale that always managed to make me leave knowing that I had learned a valuable lesson while also having a phenomenal experience. I’m so thankful for his signature in my yearbook in his impeccable handwriting but the time I got to spend in his presence was easily the best impression he could have left on my life. Rest easy, Brockmann, you will be genuinely missed but you will forever live on in the lessons you so graciously shared with your students.

I'm honored to have met this honorable man. He was such a wonderful person and my favorite substitute teacher with all the best stories. His life story was amazing to read. He will surely be missed. I hope that my children are blessed enough to have a teacher as great and motivating as he was to us!

Ruhe sanft Lieber Ernie. 
You enriched our lives with your compassion for others, your winning smile, and your enthralling stories.  My sincere condolences to your dear family. 

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Ernie. He was our favorite sub. He loved to share stories with the students who loved him so much. One day as students were in the back of the room tossing a bottle up to try to get it to land right side, instead of getting upset with them he walked up to them and took the bottle and gave it toss. The bottle landed right side up first try. The kids all cheered. He also loved to talk about his own children and how proud he was of them.i was just sharing with my family the other day about how amazing of a man he was. We would sit and he would tell me stories and share pictures of his trips he had taken He was one of the kindest man I have ever bet.Rest in peace Ernie I will miss you!

I only had Herr Brockman a few times as a sub in high school, yet he left a truly lasting impression on me. It was always such a joy to see him standing in my German class. He was incredibly kind, helpful, and everybody loved him. The stories he told were always fascinating and captured everyone's attention.

I feel so lucky to have met this man. He will be missed by so many. Rest easy, Herr Brockman

It was a joy to have known Ernie. He gave the best hugs, and he always made me feel special: like I was his own daughter or grandchild. I think a lot of people felt that way about him. Both adults and students would light up when they saw Ernie. He often made a point to swing by my classroom to greet me whenever he was on Cascade High School's campus. We loved speaking German with each other and sharing a cup of coffee. That was great for both of us, as I would learn so much from him, and he would get the opportunity to speak German. I especially appreciate all the support Ernie gave me and the German program through the years. Whenever my German partners from our exchange school were in town, Ernie made sure to take them out to "Kaffee und Kuchen." He definitely was a very gracious and social guy! He made an impression on me and countless students. I will continue to remember his smile and his stories, and I will miss his hugs. Alles Gute, lieber Ernie!

Seeing Herr Brockmann at your classroom door was as close to winning the jackpot as a high school student could get. Many of us went out of our way to say hello, even if he wasn’t subbing for our class. He was known for telling the most incredible stories and he’d have entire classrooms of usually bored and listless high school students hanging on his every word. When the bell would ring, we’d wait until he finished his story. I’ll never forget the way we would beg him to write our names in his incredible handwriting. I had mine on the front of my binder for a long time. 

I was actually in a class with him soon after he lost his first wife. We had no idea about his loss and someone asked him about his family. Watching him cry as he talked about love, his beautiful wife, and cherishing the people in your life while you can was one of the most moving things I have ever seen to this day. There were many of us that cried along with him.

Herr Brockmann will live in all of our memories as he touched so many of our lives.

Mr.Brockmann was fricken awesome! He was hands down the best substitute teacher I ever had through out my high school years at cascade. He wasn’t just any ordinary teacher either, Mr. Brockmann cared about his students and wanted to see us succeed. Classes with him were always fun and his teaching style was awesome. He never got angry or frustrated with us or at least never showed it lol I know we could all be annoying and loud . He was so kind hearted and he had so much patients with us. He will never be forgotten, Sincerely one of your many students.

As a world history teacher at Cascade High School, I always made sure to have Ernie sub for may classes whenever I had to miss school. I learned quickly that the best sub plan was to not have a sub plan when Ernie taught my classes. My students would teach me what they learned from the stories Ernie told when I came back the next day. But my favorite days at Cascade were not when Ernie taught my classes. I enjoyed it more when he was subbing for someone else. That meant we would get to talk before school, at lunch, or after school about his life and experiences. He always stopped by my room to say hello when he was on campus. Ernie reminded me of my dad, who passed away a few years ago. They both treated everyone they met as their longtime friend. They both had no problem striking up a conversation with strangers. So it didn't surprise me when I found out they happened to meet at a bakery in Everett one morning before school. In their conversation they connected the dots back to me. That day Ernie told me he met my dad, and how enjoyable it was to talk with him... and that evening my dad told me he met Ernie Brockman, and what a wonderful person he is. I agree.

I graduated 2014 from Cascade high school. Mr. Brockman was with out a doubt the most respected sub we had. When we walked in the door and saw that he was our teacher for the day we knew it would be a good class. He never disappointed us with his interesting war stories and would get every single student sucked in and interested. I remember after graduating I’d pass him some times while driving into my neighborhood and I’d always think back and wish I could have another class with him to hear more. Although we had little interactions compared to others he may of know, he had a big impact on a lot of us students. He truly was such a kind man and I will forever remember him!

Herr Brockmann was truly one of the best and kindest souls I’ve met. I will always keep that paper you wrote my name on for me and will never forget your amazing stories. RIP

Rest in peace to the best, Herr Brockmann lit up any room he was in, I could always count on it being a good day in the class when he was there. He would say hi every time we passed each other in the hallway and would jokingly claim to be my grandpa but he sure gave advice like he was. He will be missed and I hope he can rest easy now.

  Herr Brockmann, as most everyone knew him as, was one of the best teachers that anyone had the privilege of having. I know we all secretly wished our teachers would get sick just so we could walk into the classroom and see him writing his name in that perfect calligraphy.
I once had an argument with a friend from Snohomish High about the best substitute teacher ever. We realized quite quickly that we had to have been talking about the same man.
Herr Brockmann was the man who had such the way of telling a story as if he was reading it straight out of a book. These stories and life lessons that he would tell us and teach us, are still engraved in my memory to this day.
He was a truly inspiring person. I know Herr Brockmann touched so many lives in a positive way, mine included.

It was a true honor to have met him and been taught by him.
Herr Brockmann will be forever missed, but he is a true legend that will never be forgotten.

He is one of the best subs I ever had in school! Everyday I would hope id have him as a sub. He knew how to tell stories and would always have us locked into them. He knew how to make everyone laugh. He could always tell if you were having a bad day and he knew just how to make it better! He was always so positive and full of life! After I graduated I still saw him at least once a week at the grocery store and we would stop and talk for about 30 minutes just to catch up on life. He was one remarkable man. May He Rest In Peace And be looking down on all his family. He may be gone but never forgotten.❤️

Herr Brockman was the best! Always willing to stop and chat, always so kind and helpful. He will be missed, but I am sure his new job as an Angel will allow us to feel his work. God bless you Ernie, we will meet again.