Service Set for Brooks Gremmels, Who Worked to Revive Ben Wheeler

VAN — A memorial service will be held this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Hilliard Funeral Home in Van for Brooks Gremmels, credited with working to revive the town of Ben Wheeler. According to his obituary on the funeral home’s website, Gremmels died Sunday in Tyler at age 70 from complications of pancreatic cancer. Gremmels grew up in Tyler and later became a Dallas businessman, relocating to the Ben Wheeler area with his wife, Rese, about ten years ago.

The obituary says the couple used “imagination, vision, and their own resources” in their efforts to bring new life to Ben Wheeler. The obit continues, “It is now a destination with shops, restaurants, and of course, music everywhere. Ben Wheeler is the legacy he is leaving all of us. In the near future, there will be a celebration to honor Brooks in Ben Wheeler, the town he loved so much. Those details will be announced soon.”