James Somerville ‘Jim’ Brook was raised in the City of Winnipeg on the eastern edge of the Canadian prairies, in a suburban home with lots of outdoor space for play. He developed a love for nature through family camping, Scouting, and hunting trips with his father, and enjoyed curling and several team sports at school. While a student, he worked as a grocery store clerk and stocker, including six wonderful summers at Falcon Lake in eastern Manitoba. In 1968 after graduation from Miles Mac High School, Jim entered the School of Commerce at the University of Manitoba.
Jim had become interested in downhill skiing in his mid-teens, and spent many cold dark winter evenings on a riverbank in a nearby park teaching himself to make turns. In 1971 he enjoyed five months working on ski patrol at Sunshine Village near Banff in the Canadian Rockies, establishing a lifelong passion for the mountains and skiing.
Jim and Laura Leigh MacIver met at Falcon Lake. Their first date was in November 1970, and they married a year after his graduation from business school in 1972. While working in public accounting and audit, Jim completed the exams for certification as a Chartered Accountant. In October 1974 they both left their jobs, loaded two back packs, and flew to London to begin an adventure that eventually took them around the world by camper van, trains, planes, station wagon, and on foot. In 1976, they moved west to British Columbia, both fortunate to find good jobs in the town of Trail. The nearby Red Mountain ski area satisfied Jim’s desire to be close to great skiing. Four months after arriving, they purchased 10 wooded acres on a mountainside and soon began construction of a 5-bedroom log home. Jim was still building the house when their first son Tyler was born in 1979. Ryan and Shelley soon followed, and spent their early years surrounded by nature. The family enjoyed skiing, sailing, hunting, hiking, horse riding, curling, soccer and other activities. Jim joined the Rotary Club of Beaver Valley in 1984 and served as its president in 1988/89.
Throughout the 1980s Jim served as the Chief Financial Officer for West Kootenay Power, a hydroelectric utility company with a sparsely populated territory of about 25,000 square miles in BC’s southern interior. In 1987 the company was purchased by UtiliCorp United, a multi-state electric and gas utility based in Kansas City, and in 1990 Jim accepted an offer to relocate to the KC area. The family converted to suburban country club life, made new friends, enjoyed excellent schools, and continued skiing with various trips to Colorado, Utah, and BC. Summer road trips north to Falcon Lake in the big conversion van provided opportunities to visit grandparents. Jim continued membership in Rotary, becoming a charter member of the Rotary Club of Leawood in 1995 and club president in 2000/01. The family purchased a condo in Breckenridge, Colorado in 2000 for continued access to skiing when middle son Ryan decided to spend that winter on snow.
Jim served as VP Controller with UtiliCorp/Aquila for several years, then as VP International Regulation, while the company continued to grow through international acquisitions and developed a substantial gas and oil trading business in the US. He completed his MBA degree at University of Kansas in 1998in his spare time. Unfortunately, the Enron debacle eventually led to the company’s total dissolution in 2004. Jim moved on to Kansas City Southern Railroad as VP Comptroller during the next two years. In 2006, he retired and moved full time to the condo in Breckenridge, purchased a two-acre lot, and began design and construction of a new home. Laura Leigh organized the sale of their KC home in 2007, and the purchase of a condo near Naples Florida for regular winter escapes.
In Breckenridge, Jim joined Summit County Rotary, St John the Baptist Episcopal Church, and the Board of the Highlands at Breckenridge Property Owners’ Association. In 2012 he joined the Board of the Red White and Blue Fire Protection District. His involvement with all four is continuing in 2022. He also served for a few winters as a ski guide for groups at the Keystone and Breckenridge ski areas. Rotary activities have included Youth Exchange, Fundraising, Club President 2012/13, Car Raffle, and Rotary Peak, as well as District 5450 Assistant Governor 2015/18 and Lieutenant Governor 2018/21.
Jim and Laura Leigh moved into the new home at 5 Barney Ford Drive in 2012. Ryan married Maya Ellman in 2012; they now have three very active sons, living in Avada on the west edge of Denver. Shelley married Jared Kershaw in 2020 and granddaughter Skylar was born in 2021; they live in Lakewood, also in west Denver. Tyler and Nikki live near Breckenridge; after renovating and selling the condo in 2015, Jim began construction of a large addition and garage at their home. Jim continues to enjoy skiing and hiking, especially with his grandsons, as well as various volunteer projects in the community. Golf, kayaking, and warm weather at the Naples condo in spring and fall continue to be a provide a nice contrast to mountain living.