Bishop Jerrold Dean Westbrooks

Life Journey of Bishop Jerrold Dean Westbrooks Sr.
Jerrold Dean Westbrooks Sr. was born on February 3, 1944 to the union of J.B. Westbrooks and Vidalia Adams Westbrooks. He was the first born of five to this eleven-year marriage. He was the heart of his mother and father and a delight to his family.
Jerrold attended school in the Oakland Public School system. He attended Cole and Durant Elementary, Lowell Jr. High and McClymonds High School. He received Christ at an early age, joining Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church under the pastorate of Reverend J.L. Richard. As a young adult, he strayed away from the church. However, on February 8th 1989, he had his own ‘Damascus Road’ encounter with God and his life was changed forever. He was later called to preach the gospel. His life struggles were many, but his victories in Christ were greater.
As a young man, Jerrold worked as a Longshoreman on the San Francisco waterfront after receiving his father’s A Book. He also worked at JC Penney, Sears Roebuck, and ended his sales career at the Clothing Brokers. He later worked as a driver for Uber. Jerrold was an excellent landscaper, and loved working in the yards of his family and friends.
Jerrold was always the star of the family; he had a beautiful singing voice. At the age of 19, he and his friends; Lige Dailey Jr., Howard Terry, Charles Hill, and Ralph Williams Jr. started a singing group called the Suburban’s accompanied by a small band with Larry Vann, Bernie Williams, and Gerald Demar. They were Motown caliber and sang for NAACP Events in the Bay Area, and were featured at many events at the Oakland Auditorium.
In 1964, Jerrold met and married Carolyn Marie Brown, two daughters were born to this marriage, and she passed in 1979. In 1988, he met Virginia Brewer. After a short courtship, they were married at their church by Elder Vernon Cooper in San Diego, CA. They spent 32 years together.
While in San Diego, he and Virginia participated in the homeless ministry along with their church. They later moved to Sacramento and joined Calvary Christian Center under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Phillip Goudeaux. Jerrold was part of the leadership for the men’s recovery home where he led many men to Christ. After leaving Calvary, Jerrold and his wife, Virginia started a church in their home. They were ordained as Pastors in August 2001 by Bishop Esley Simmons of Assemblies of God. He was ordained as Bishop in 2009 and became presiding Prelate over Transnational Apostolic Congress under the late Bishop Ebbi Inatami. Jerrold traveled worldwide preaching in many foreign countries such as India, Africa, and the United Kingdom. He and his wife served in missionary ministries in Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama. Locally, Jerrold was actively involved with Bringing Broken Neighborhoods Back to Life.
His humor was infectious, he was a great storyteller, and he was loved by his entire family, young and old. He loved to travel and also lived in Texas for a while with his father. In November 2020 God blessed him to meet his youngest son Harold, who had been praying for many years to meet him. They were both overjoyed. He loved people. He was a Dad, Grandpa, Papa, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend. He was a witness to the world of what God can do with a life committed to Jesus. He will be sorely missed.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his younger sister Connie S. Westbrooks Stiff, his son Jerrold D. Westbrooks Jr., three grandsons; Baby Jakim Westbrooks, DeAndre Westbrooks and Kartiae Ely and three nephews; Jerry B. Westbrooks, Donald V. Westbrooks, and Kevin O. Reece II.

He leaves to cherish his memory his wife Virginia Westbrooks, three sons: Bishop James D. Westbrooks Adams, Michael Westbrooks Williams, and Harold Westbrooks Johnson (Sheila), four daughters: Valerie Lachunne Triche (Ashahed), Robbie Juneil Dizer, Savanah Westbrooks Johnson, and Petrina Westbrooks. He also leaves his sister Carol Curtis and two brothers Donald Westbrooks (Jewel) and Malcolm Westbrooks (Alice). He leaves his five bonus children; Marco N. Brewer (Lorie), Aleathia Gary, Oneida Banks (Fred), Venus Williams (Larry), Es’Simone Ireland. Jerrold also leaves 23 grandchildren, a host of great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.