Zachary Ryan Brooks, 26, of Oakland, passed away Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in Bessemer, AL.

The family will receive friends Sunday May 13,   from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home. The funeral service will begin at 3 p.m. in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery.

Zachary was born Oct. 10, 1996, in Birmingham, to Edward Brooks and Dawn Duncan. Zachary was of the Baptist faith and most recently attended Peach Creek Baptist Church. Zachary enjoyed hiking as well as music and playing drums. Zachary also like to fish but his passion was cooking. He loved cooking and dreamed of becoming a chef, a goal he was working towards at the time of his passing.

Zachary was preceded in death by his grandparents, Ed and Frances Brooks and his grandmother, Thelma Stroud.

Those left to cherish his memory include his father, Edward Brooks (Sharon), of Oakland, his mother, Dawn Duncan, of Pleasant Grove, AL, and his step-mother, Rita Stroud, of Alabaster, AL. He is also survived by two sisters, Rebecca Duncan and Tori Duncan, both of Pleasant Grove, AL, his stepbrother, Eric Wilkins, of Wilmer, AL, his step-sister Brittany Pullen, of Hernando,  two aunts, Louise Gray and Linda Crocker, both of Sardis, and several special cousins.