Marvin E. Rooks

Marvin Edward Rooks passed away in the early morning of Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at the age of 79. Born in Gainesville, Florida, on December 31, 1943, he grew up in Jacksonville and graduated from the University of Florida in 1965. Afterwards he became an officer in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the U.S.S. Bexar, on which he had two tours of duty to Vietnam, rising to the position of Lieutenant upon his discharge in 1973. While stationed in San Diego, he met and married Linda Wieck, and after he left the Navy, the two traveled and camped through Europe for a five month getaway before he was to settle into the discipline of law school.

He attended Stetson University College of Law and received his Juris Doctor in 1972. For the next 36 years, Marvin practiced law in Orlando in the areas of Commercial Law, Franchise and Distribution Law and Adoption Law. He was a senior partner in such premier law firms as Giles, Hedrick and Robinson, Turnbull, Abner, Daniels and Rooks, and Carroll, Jones, Rooks and Owen. He served four years as City Attorney for the City of Longwood and was an advocate for children and families through the Orange County Guardian ad Litem program.

In 2002 he became an Adjunct Professor at Barry University School of Law and developed one of the few courses in Franchise Law in the country. In 2008, he became a full-time member of the law faculty and published professional articles in the Wake Forest and George Mason Law Journals. As a law professor, Marvin Rooks was dedicated to passing onto his students not only a thorough understanding of the law, but practical lessons learned from his own practice and a strong ethical grounding for the future integrity of their professional careers.

Marvin loved music, and with three of his friends, founded a nationally syndicated radio program called Smokestack Lightnin', a popular blues show heard weekly on WUCF for twenty years. He was on the International Advisory Board of the Blues Foundation.

Despite his accomplishments, what he cherished most was his family and his love for God. He was devoted to his daughters, Julie and Laura and wife Linda and never missed a birthday, a softball game, or a dance recital. Pictures of his grandchildren covered one corner of his desk. He was a governing elder at Northland Church in Longwood in the late 80s and early 90s and for sixteen years, he and his wife Linda led a ministry called Marriage 911 for those in troubled marriages. He served on the Board of Directors for the Orange County Jail Ministry.

But what many people will remember most about Marvin Rooks was his vibrant, enthusiastic personality and the way he could make people laugh with his droll sense of humor and quick, irrepressible wit. He loved the Gators, Jimmy Dean sausage, M & Ms, and Oreos. Marvin's optimism, enthusiasm, sense of humor and dedication to family and friends will be greatly missed by the many people who loved him.

Marvin is survived by his wife Linda, his daughters Laura Rooks and Juliana Wolf and her husband Chris, his grandchildren Christian and Audrey Wolf and Ryan, Carson, and Travis Voorhees, and his brother Larry Rooks and his wife Nini.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held on January 13 at 11 a.m. at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida.

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