Brooks Otis
May 3, 1938 – May 9, 2026

Brooks Otis, a beloved husband, father, musician and pillar of the Humboldt County community, passed away peacefully at his Arcata home on May 9, 2026. Born on May 3, 1938, in Geneva, New York, to Brooks and Christine Otis, he was the eldest of five children, joined by Molly, Cheney, Irene, and Paul. From his earliest years, Brooks moved through the world with curiosity, warmth and an abiding love of music.

Brooks spent his high school years in Geneva and abroad, living with his family in Rome and Beirut in the 1950s. After studying history at Columbia University, Brooks was drafted into the Army, serving from 1961 to 1963 as a medic in Germany, and, true to form, keeping himself sane by playing music. During those years he formed friendships and musical connections that would last a lifetime.

Returning from the Army to Palo Alto, Calif., Brooks worked at the Stanford Press and studied part-time at Stanford University. His interest in Latin America drew him to the Peace Corps in 1966. At the initial training in Seattle, he met the love of his life, Carolyn Chaffee, and the two were posted to a rural Aymara Indian village in Bolivia, where they helped establish a food cooperative, build a new school, and taught literacy and English classes.

Brooks and Carolyn returned to the United States and married. At 30, he went to work for California Indian Legal Services in Escondido, California. That work brought them north to Eureka, where Brooks served as a Project Director for United Indian Health Services. They put down roots in Humboldt County in 1970, and their son Dan was born in 1971.

In September 1974, Brooks and his partner Mike Manetas opened the doors of Wildwood Music in Arcata. For thirty years, Wildwood was a hub of musical life in the region, offering lessons, instrument sales and repairs, and a gathering place for the community. Brooks was also a longtime radio host and Music Director at KHSU, edited the Humboldt Folklife Society newsletter for many years, and was an avid gardener and photographer.

Throughout his time in Humboldt County, Brooks remained an active musician. He was a member of the seminal bluegrass band Fickle Hill, the dance band Swing Shift, and played in many other bands, including the Country Pretenders, Kenny Ray and the Mighty Rovers, the Horn Band, the Continental Drifters, Loafer’s Glory, Rosanne and Kentones, Bayside Quartet, the Timber Ridge Boys, just to name a few. He played flute, clarinet, saxophone, banjo, guitar, fiddle and pedal steel guitar.

Brooks gave generously to everyone around him. He was always ready to fix an instrument, share a melody or mentor a young musician. His vast, curated music collection brought joy to all who encountered it. He touched lives quietly and without fanfare, which was entirely his preference.

Brooks is survived by his son, Dan Otis; his two sisters, Molly Barnes and Irene Otis; his brother, Paul Otis; and by the many musicians, students, friends and neighbors whose lives he touched. A memorial for both Brooks and Carolyn is being planned for some time in August.