He was a member of a wealthy New York City family, his father having founded the Brokaw Brothers men's clothing stores.

Her family co-owned the Nave & McCord Mercantile Company, a chain of wholesale stores in the Midwest.

They had three daughters: Irving Brokaw died March 19, 1939, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

In 1910, Brokaw wrote the first of four books, all entitled The Art of Skating, which was referred to as the "figure skater's bible" by Time Magazine.

[6] In 1976, Brokaw was posthumously inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.