MINDEN, Nev. — Longtime Nevada attorney and Incline Village General Improvement District legal counsel T. Scott Brooke died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve.

Brooke, 69, was a 31-year resident of Carson Valley, his daughter, Lauren Brooke, said Monday.

“He had a lot of life left to live,” she said. “We were an incredibly close-knit family. He was a real pillar of strength for our family and the community as well.”

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He had a real love for the land, the outdoors and the mountains, and he loved to fly fish, ski and travel.

“A big part of his identity was being a rancher,” Lauren said. “He and my mother bought a working cattle ranch on the west fork of the Carson River in 1990, which my mother continues to run today. My sister and I were lucky to be raised on this property, where his love for the land and open spaces was passed on to us.

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“He cherished his ability to spend his free time working on the land, and enjoyed the ranch lifestyle wholly until last day.”

Born May 27, 1945, in Fort Lewis, Wash., Brooke grew up traveling, before returning to California to get his degree at University of California, Berkeley, and his law degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.

He was general counsel to a San Joaquin Valley agribusiness and practiced with a large Los Angeles law firm, according to his official biography.

“He was a ski patrolman at Squaw Valley for five years prior to attending law school,” Lauren Brooke said. “He was a beautiful and technical skier, and he loved to ski with his family. He was very much looking forward to the upcoming ski season.”

After he arrived in Carson Valley, he and Bill Shaw founded the firm of Brooke and Shaw, in 1985, which later added partner Charles Zumpft.

“Scott was a friend, mentor and partner in every sense of the word. He brought professional excellence and integrity to the legal community,” the firm said in a statement this week. “His career was one of remarkable success as he was a trusted adviser and counselor to his clients and well respected by his peers.”

Brooke was appointed to the Douglas County Planning Commission in 1986 and served until 1989. He was also chairman of the 1989 Douglas County Grand Jury.

His law firm served as legal counsel to some of the Carson Valley’s most prominent residents, including Minden industrialist Don Bently. Brooke also served as counsel to several general improvement districts, including Indian Hills and Incline Village.

Brooke’s death came two weeks after the IVGID board voted to replace him with the Incline Village law firm of Reese Kintz Brohawn Guinasso, effective Jan. 1.

It marks the first time in about 15 years IVGID will have new legal counsel. The board hired Brooke Shaw Zumpft on May 31, 2000, and Brooke replaced legal counsel Noel Manoukian on July 1 of that year.

Over the years, Brooke regularly attended IVGID board meetings — including the Dec. 10 meeting announcing his departure, when he was thanked by several trustees and residents for his professionalism and years of service — and worked with district staff and trustees on varying legal matters.

Brooke was scheduled to remain employed through March with IVGID to help transition the new legal team.

Brooke, who also worked closely with and supported the Tahoe Heritage Foundation, planned on retiring March 31, 2015, his daughter said.

“His plan was to sleep in on April 1, and then go on a fishing trip on April 2. He had a trip booked to Cuba with my mother for his 70th birthday,” she said. “He was really excited to begin the next chapter of learning and adventure. He always found time to spend time with us as family.”

He is survived by wife Charlotte and daughters Lauren and Kate.

A celebration of life will be held in the spring by the Brooke family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Western Folklife Center, 501 Railroad St., Elko, NV 89801 in memory of T. Scott Brooke, or by contacting Cleo Hansen at 775-738-7508, ext. 229, or chansen@westernfolklife.org.

— Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier, a sister paper of the Bonanza covering the Nevada communities of Minden and Gardnerville. Bonanza Managing Editor Kevin MacMillan contributed to this report.