In memory of jim brock,
Our poppy
Obituary
James “Jim” Walter Brock, known to his family as “Poppy”, passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 12, 2026, at his home at Montereau, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, just days after celebrating his 87th birthday. In the final days of his life, Jim was doing the things he loved most: playing racquetball with friends, shooting an unusually good 79 on the golf course, praying with loved ones, and spending time with family watching Texas Tech basketball. It was a full and joyful end to a life lived with energy, curiosity, and purpose.
Jim was born on March 3, 1939, to Pearl Emma Brock and James Boyd Brock in Shreveport, Louisiana. From an early age, sports were a central part of Jim’s life. His parents were athletes, and their love for competition quickly became his own. Jim was good at almost any sport, at any level, anywhere. This sparked Jim’s drive to achieve at the highest levels, both in sports and in business. He often reminded others that progress comes from getting back up and trying again. He received a football scholarship to attend Texas Tech University, where he studied engineering. Jim’s passion for his alma mater never faded, and he remained an ardent Texas Tech supporter throughout his life.
Jim began his professional career at General Electric. He enjoyed talking about how he worked on the first electric-powered vehicle! Jim moved his family to many cities before settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here, he built a career as a Certified Financial Planner ® with Ameriprise Financial and partnered with several advisors to form a Private Wealth Advisory Practice. Jim thrived helping clients plan for their futures and celebrating their achievements together. His success earned him invitations to the annual Ameriprise Chairman’s Advisory Council trips for the top 100 advisors in the country. These were opportunities he loved because they allowed him to travel the world and bring family members along for vacations and shared adventures. Later, Jim was the seventh advisor to be inducted into the Ameriprise Circle of Success Hall of Fame.
Every great man has a partner supporting them, who is great in their own right. He met Mary Brock when they were in the fourth grade. Over the decades, they built a partnership full of playful debate and a mutual talent for nudging each other toward new challenges and adventures. Mary supported Jim during career transitions by moving their family and home whenever needed. Jim supported Mary when she returned to college at age 48 to complete her art degree and pursue a career as a professional artist. He was especially proud to be the patron of her oil paintings and family portraits, which now hang in the homes of their children and grandchildren.
Together, Jim and Mary raised two sons, Beau and Brandt Brock. Both inherited their father’s love of sports and played football. In one of the most meaningful chapters of Jim’s life, Beau and Brandt later joined their father in the financial advisory business in Tulsa, continuing the work he loved and building a family legacy together.
Jim stayed active and social throughout his life. In addition to golf, he exercised religiously at the Saint Francis Health Zone, enjoying frequent racquetball and pickleball games with friends. Jim became a believer and started to influence his family by prioritizing reformed faith and systematic theology in the churches they attended. Jim and Mary have been longtime members of Christ Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, attending faithfully every Sunday. He would say that he couldn’t carry a tune or always remember the words to the hymns, but that never stopped him from making a joyful noise during worship.
He also loved taking his family to the circus and attending performances at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. In later years, Jim often joked that the key to staying young was to “not let the old man in,” borrowing a favorite line from Toby Keith’s song of the same name. He believed exercise could cure almost anything and remained convinced that making forward progress toward goals was one of the keys to staying alive and engaged with the world.
Jim is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary Brock; his sons, Beau Brock and wife Michelle, and Brandt Brock and wife Cynthia; his grandchildren, Seth Brock and wife Hayden, Kendall Brock, Brooklyn Brock and husband Aron Romasanta, Mackensy and husband Nolan Cannon, Parker Brock, and Reagan Brock; and his great-grandson Nathaniel Brandt Cannon. He is also survived by his younger brother, Jerry Brock, and Jerry’s wife, Dennis.
Those who knew Jim will remember his relentless optimism, his curiosity about the future, and his deep interest in the lives and goals of the people around him. His life was defined by his quiet, unshakable faith, and by a belief that every challenge carries the seed of something better.
In lieu of flowers, feel free to make a charitable donation in memory of Jim Brock, to Christ Presbyterian Church, specifically for missions, or to the International Languages Library, which is a non-profit his granddaughter started here in Tulsa.
Eulogy
I’m Brooklyn, Poppy’s granddaughter. Poppy loved when I spoke at conferences, especially if I was the only woman. If he were here today, I have a feeling he’d say this is a great line-up of speakers, but we need a little more diversity… so here I am.
When you think about Poppy, it’s easy to picture him as this tall, commanding presence… the kind of person you might imagine building a statue for - strong leader, accomplished business man, larger than life.
But as Poppy said in his own video, he was fortunate not to turn out completely like that kind of man. Because the version of Poppy we knew as a family was different.
One night at dinner, Poppy passed around these little cards, each with a different animal nose on them, and we all hooked them over noses, hanging down over our mouths. I don’t remember exactly which one he picked… but I do remember the face on his mask looked kind of grumpy. And behind it, he was grinning. And we were all laughing.
That’s the Poppy we knew. I want to share with you the man behind the mask. I’m going to do this in 3 short stories.
1
The first Poppy story is about being present. I’ve heard that when his sons were little, Poppy was a workaholic. When they got a chance to travel together, it was always to go see family. After his sons grew up, with families of their own, Poppy got us together for summer vacations. We still share stories of those trips around the dinner table! But we still lived far apart for most of the year… so Poppy came up with a master plan.
He asked each of his sons if they would consider moving their families back to Tulsa. He offered them two things: a job in his business, and eventually, ownership of it. They said yes. And because of that decision, our entire family moved to Tulsa about 26 years ago. Which means… Poppy is the main reason we grew up together.
If there was a football game… he was there. A soccer game… he was there. Birthdays, movie nights, fireworks on the Fourth of July, graduation parties over Zoom during the pandemic… Poppy showed up. He didn’t make a big deal about it. He was just… there.
Poppy would want you to know that this isn’t just sentimental… it’s backed by data. An 85-year Harvard study found that the most important factor in living a long, healthy, happy life is the quality of your relationships. I’ve been thinking about what it looks like to actually do life with our families. Because family matters.
2
The second Poppy story is about sharing joy. When we grandchildren started turning 13, Poppy would take each of us on an international trip. Chile. Holland. Paris. Italy. Russia. Those trips were unforgettable. He took the adults on trips too. In fact, he helped make a dream come true for Michelle, Beau’s wife, to visit Scotland. Poppy is part of the reason Aunt Michelle overcame her terror of flying, and is a nationally-renowned travel agent today. He was proud of being a part of that journey.
My sister Reagan shared a memory from her trip with Poppy. They were walking down the street somewhere in Europe and stopped to get fake tattoos together. Poppy got a cheetah on his ankle. Which might seem a little out of character for him!
Reagan and I watched a cheesy rom-com called The People We Meet on Vacation, based on the novel by Emily Henry, about how some people feel like they can only be themselves on vacation. But there wasn’t a “vacation version” of Poppy. Poppy was always excited to find new foods to try, to introduce us to a new cultural experience, and expose us to the arts, both on international trips and here in Tulsa. He took us to performances at the PAC, to the circus and Cirque du Soleil, and he always wanted to go to First Friday together to see the local art and music. He loved to ask about the art we were creating and languages we were studying, even though none of us took him up on his offer of paying our college tuition if we would study Chinese.
There’s a story he used to tell that captures that funny part of his personality perfectly. He was walking down the street one day and saw a coffee shop. He walked in and asked for a cappuccino. They said, “Sir, we’re not open yet. We can’t sell you a cappuccino.” And without missing a beat, he said, “Well, that works out perfectly… because I’m the official cappuccino taster.”
That’s my Poppy. He didn’t take no for an answer. He would challenge people with a smile on his face and end up becoming friends. To this day, I can’t have a cup of coffee without thinking about him and the way he saw the world.
3
The third Poppy story is about legacy. I always loved that if Poppy wanted to know you, he wasn’t going to ask, “How are you?” and accept “good” as an answer. He asked deeper questions.
“What are your life goals?”
“What’s your 100-year plan?”
“What are you working toward next?”
And if you didn’t have an answer… that was okay. He’d help you find one.
Several spouses who have married into our family have shared that Poppy was one of the first family members to truly recognize and respect them for their career expertise. He did this by asking insightful questions, listening to their answers, and remembering to ask for a status update next time we got together.
He made people feel like they mattered. Like they had potential. Like their future was worth thinking about. And yes, sometimes that could feel a little intimidating. But it was also one of the most powerful ways he showed love and welcomed people into the family. Sadly, Poppy’s first great-grandchild, Baby Nate, is only 2 years old and never got to fully experience the Poppy welcome. Baby Nate, if you’re listening, Poppy loved you!
Final Thoughts
Last week, one of my clients said, “I’ve never met your grandfather… but I feel like I’ve met the best parts of him, through you.”
I think that’s true for all of us. Because his influence lives on, in the way we think, the way we show up, and the way we care about each other. The best way we can honor Poppy isn’t just by remembering him, or believing that relationships matter. In honor of Poppy, I want to challenge all of us to do one simple thing this week, and that is to show up for someone.
Go to the game.
Make the call. Ask deeper questions.
Schedule time to get coffee.
Those moments matter more than we think. Thank you, Poppy. We love you.
