Dr. Robert Autry Brooks, a pathologist who served on the Flinn Foundation Board of Directors during a time of momentous change for the organization, died on Feb. 26, 2026. He was 96.
Brooks served on the Flinn board from 1980 through 2005, an era when the Foundation hired its first employee, launched the Flinn Scholars Program and Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, and began funding Arizona arts and culture organizations.
Brooks came to Phoenix in 1968 to practice in the department of pathology at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he became friends with Dr. Robert Flinn, who, with his wife, Irene, created the Foundation. Brooks retired from St. Joseph’s in 1994 after serving as the director of clinical laboratories and chief of the Department of Pathology.
In a 2015 sit-down interview recognizing the Flinn Foundation’s 50th anniversary, Brooks said he joined the Board following the death of Mrs. Flinn. Around that time, the Foundation began expanding community support beyond St. Joseph’s Hospital. He had long advocated for bringing a new University of Arizona College of Medicine to Phoenix, and was proud of the Foundation’s support of the idea. Brooks also supported the creation of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, or TGen, and new university and hospital research funding.
Brooks was born in Russellville, Ark., and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1955 — the same medical school as Dr. Flinn. He also attended the University of Arkansas Medical School and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and his associate’s degree from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.
The descendant of Arkansas pioneers served in the U.S. Air Force at the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio. He trained in anatomic and clinical pathology and practiced in Lincoln, Neb., before moving to Phoenix.
Brooks was a lover of classical music, an expert in genealogy, and an active member in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In addition to the Flinn Foundation, he served on the board of several medical organizations.
Brooks was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Jean Hammon, his parents, and brother. He is survived by his son, Robert; daughter, Janet; five grandchildren, and other extended family members.
Donations may be made in his name to the St. Joseph’s Foundation.
In memoriam
Remembering John Murphy, the Flinn Foundation’s first president and CEO