Mr. Skobi Matunde: Obituary

Obituaries

Skobi Matunde (Robert Brooks) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 25, 1943.He was the first child of his father, Mack Brooks, Sr. and his mother, Doris Brooks Leatherbury. At an early age, his mother and father divorced and he and his two brothers went to Saint John’s Orphanage and, subsequently, Saint Francis Vocational School. He graduated from Father Judge High School in 1961, one of the few African-Americans in his class. After high school, Skobi held a succession of jobs while taking courses at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1964, he joined the United States Marine Corps. Not one to be second rate, after completing basic training, Skobi went to Parachute Training School, Parachute Rigger School, and ultimately became a Paramarine and part of the elite Marine Corps’ Force Recon. Among his earliest duty assignments was at the Marine Corps Barracks Annapolis. There, he was a middle weight boxing champion. He volunteered to serve in Vietnam, where he saw sustained and acute combat near the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam with Third Force Recon Marines. This experience had a profound effect on his life, his values, and his health. Among his many military awards were the National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, The Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross, and the Navy Achievement Medal. After Vietnam, he went back to Southeast Asia (Laos and Thailand), where part of his duties involved feeding refugees. Upon returning to the United States, Skobi became an active writer and won the American Society of Writers Award for distinguished literary achievement, in 1977, as member of the Poets Guild of America. He was an active member of many cultural and service organizations, including serving on the Board of the African Community Learning Center, the Kwanza Planning Committee, Friends of the Library of Philadelphia, and the Odende African New Year Committee. While at Temple University, Skobi was on the Student Council and Director of Sietu Productions of Art and Drama. In addition to his strong sense of community engagement, Skobi had deep respect for his ancestral beginnings and was active in promoting African culture, art, and dance. He was the author of several books and the publisher of an Afro-Centric calendar. He chose a new name for himself, Skobi Matunde, a name he felt represented who he was. He penned his work with his chosen name. In 1984, Skobi went to the Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard Apprenticeship Program. In 1988, he earned a leadership award in his class. While working at the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard, on his own time, he did out-rigging for ocean canoeing. In this, he was awarded a gold medal from the Nahor War Canoeing Society. Skobi moved to Sassafras Mountain Retreat outside Ducktown, TN. He became an active member of the North Georgia Honor Guard, Disabled Veterans Post 28, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. On December 17, 2014, he married his beloved wife Nancy May Matunde, where they resided in McCaysville, GA, until his death on February 18, 2015.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy; his step-mother, Betty White Brooks; his three children, Tanisha Ferris, Cheo Matunde, and Rachel Paradise Azzaam; his four grandchildren, Fatimah, Laila, Olivia and Zachariyah; his brothers, Mack Brooks, Alex Brooks, Joseph Boyd, Eric S. Brooks, Jeffrey Brooks, Tracy Brooks, Calvin C. Brooks; his sister, Andrea Simmons, and numerous extended family members and friends.

Funeral services will be conducted Friday, February 27, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. from the Akins of Blue Ridge Chapel with Col. George Pletcher officiating. Military honors will be by North Georgia Honor Guard. Interment will follow in the Georgia National Cemeter in Canton, GA. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Friday from 10:00 a.m. until the service hour. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.akinsfuneralhome.com. Akins Funeral Home of Blue Ridge is in charge of arrangements.

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