In early June 2021, alumni of the Harbaugh Club met in a house in Lancaster to celebrate together for the first time in almost two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As we left to go our separate ways home, we learned that Ty Brooke, founder of the modern Harbaugh Club, had passed away. 

Tyrrell Wilcox Brooke was born on August 25, 1932 in Minneapolis, MN and raised in Illinois and New Jersey. He attended Westfield High School in Westfield, NJ, graduating in 1949, and Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, graduating in 1953 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.  After F&M, he joined the United States Army, receiving training at the Defense Language Institute and serving as a German translator with the Army Security Agency in Frankfurt, Germany, from 1953-1955. 

In 1958, he married Elizabeth "Liz" Barnard, and they remained deeply in love with one another throughout his lifetime.  They had three sons together–Tom, Bob, and Jim--and many of Ty’s activities involved one or more of them.  He adored his family; they always came first. 

After his military service, Ty worked in sales in Iowa and Ohio and became co-owner of the Bennett Lumber Company in Medina, OH before moving to Vienna, VA in 1968.  Here he owned a Taylor Rental Center from 1977-87 and founded Brooke Rental Center in 1987.

He believed in the importance of community service and of local institutions to the survival of our democracy and was active in many.  While in Medina, he held local, state, and national offices with the U.S. Jaycees, earning their Outstanding Young Man award, and was chairman of the City Zoning and Planning Commission.  In Virginia, he was chairman of Cub Scout Pack 1116, founder and first commissioner of Vienna Youth Soccer, chief timer for the Cardinal Hill swim team, president of Madison High School Band Parents, chairman of Vienna’s Town Business Liaison Committee, president of the Washington Area Rental Association, treasurer of the Virginia Rental Association, and served on the Fairfax County Vocational Education Advisory Committee as well as the Washington Building Congress Pennsylvania Avenue Development Committee. 

A proud alumnus of Franklin & Marshall and of the Alpha Theta chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, he also believed strongly in the benefits of a liberal arts education and the role that positive social associations among students can have to maximize it.  He helped found a chapter of Sigma Nu at Radford University and served as treasurer of the Theta Chi Alumni Board at West Virginia Wesleyan College.  He also remained active with F&M and Lambda Chi as a member of the board of directors of the Alpha Theta alumni association, was treasurer of the F&M Alumni Greek Council, and served on the F&M Alumni Board and the F&M Board of Trustees. 

Generous in every way, Ty had a very strong desire to try to solve or influence the outcome of every problem he encountered.  In 2004, F&M ended 26 years of “de-recognition” of Greek Life on campus. Along with other Lambda Chi alumni, Ty then sought to bring their fraternity back to campus, but he also saw the value of an alternative kind of organization – a co-ed social club with focus on academic values and intellectual curiosity.  His inspiration was in the century-old eating club that had preceded Lambda Chi Alpha at F&M, the Harbaugh Club, which Ty with the support of fellow alumni revived in 2005. 

Ty was so much more than just the founder of the revived club; he was its most active member by a wide margin.  Many F&M students may recall Ty’s presence during their freshmen move-in, providing a friendly face and refreshing snow cones.  He attended every monthly Harbaugh luncheon--most held in the Old Main boardroom--and each of the formal dinners.  Driving up for events in a large truck, often accompanied by his wife Liz, he provided the tables, chairs, and everything else needed for a successful event (including that snow cone machine) all from his own rental business!  A tireless advocate for the organization that he revived, his campaigning efforts with the F&M administration were directly responsible for the college providing the use of a “new” clubhouse at 611 College Ave for student members. 

As the Harbaugh Club grew and thrived over the years, Ty’s happiness and pride in the organization were more than evident.  Every member Ty welcomed into this century-old organization can tell you the story about how he welcomed them into the Club.  Ty embodied Harbaugh’s core values--Love, Honor, and Loyalty--values he strove to install in each of us.  And as he would never let you forget, Ty was also a proud Lambda Chi man, and would often invoke their motto: “naught without labor.”  It is in this spirit and in Ty Brooke’s memory that the Harbaugh Club commits to continuing his legacy.