Marie Brooks

Ethel Marie Brooks 89, died on Saturday, July 21, 2018 at Newton Presbyterian Manor.  She was born September 30, 1928 in Pawhuska, Oklahoma to Ira D. and Norma (Lindsay) Barkman.  She was their 4^th child and first daughter.

At three weeks of age her family moved to Winfield, Kansas where her father was a farmer.  As a young girl she worked on the farm gardening and feeding the animals.  She would say it was “like living in a zoo”.  The workload increased during WWII when her father and three brothers were in the service.  The family often got together with other family members, neighbors, and friends.  Marie would cut hair and give permanents, “This is how people got along, doing things for each other.”  Marie graduated from Winfield High School in 1946 and kept in touch with classmates, many who lived in Winfield and Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

On June 1, 1948 Marie married Dale E. Brooks in Winfield and lived at Kansas State University in Manhattan where Dale completed a degree in Agricultural Education.  The focus of her life was the care and raising of three daughters. Marie was a devoted wife and mother and talented seamstress.  They lived in a number of Kansas towns, including Elk City, Clay Center, Beloit and Newton. She has been a resident of Newton for 50 years. Marie was a longtime active member of the Trinity Heights United Methodist Church in Newton where she cared for many members families helping in the kitchen with funeral dinners in addition to the many other projects at the church she helped with through the years.

Marie is survived by daughters, Beverly Brooks of Cleveland, TN; Diane Spear and her husband David of Mannford, OK; Sandy Hendrickson and her husband Mark of Grove, OK; sisters Darlene Roe of Derby, KS and Barbara Watters of Wadsworth, IL. She also had 4 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews and their families that survive.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and three brother’s Floyd, Ira and Raymond Barkman.  She is also preceded in death by two grandchildren Erica and Brand Hendrickson.

A gathering of remembrance and sharing was held Monday July 23, 2018 at Trinity Heights United Methodist Church in Newton.

Memorials are suggested to Trinity Heights Respite Care for their playground project.