Obituary of John Brooks

Coffeyville - John L. (Jack) Brooks, Jr. was born on January 4, 1925, in Martin, Tennessee, to Mamie McMillion Brooks and John L. Brooks. In 1939, the family moved to Coffeyville where Mrs. Brooks' brother, Dr. John McMillion had a medical practice. Jack graduated from Field Kindley High School in 1942. Unable to enlist in any branch of the armed forces due to high blood pressure, Jack was informed by the U.S. Army that they would allow him to join if he graduated from Mortuary Science school, as they needed embalmers overseas. When he graduated from mortuary school in St. Louis, Missouri, the war had just ended. He returned to Coffeyville and began work at the Ford Funeral Home at its original location on the corner of 9th and Spruce Streets. During the Christmas holidays of that year, he attended a dance at the Coffeyville Country Club, where he first saw Emma Jane Staton in a long red velvet dress that her mother had made for her. They were married on October 20, 1946, at the First Presbyterian Church. Jack and Jane had two daughters, Jann Dibrell and Jacqueline Sue. In 1962, Jack began employment at the Acme Foundry & Machine Company, where he became vice president and a principal owner. He retired from Acme in 1987. He loved to return to his birthplace of Martin, Tennessee, every year, and did so until three years ago. He was invited to class reunions in Martin, although he only attended school there through junior high. He outlived every friend he had grown up with in Tennessee. Although he was not happy about leaving Martin his first year of high school, he grew to love and take pride in his adopted hometown of Coffeyville. He was one of two men who founded the Dalton Defender's Museum in 1953 and was the last surviving member of the original Board of Trustees. He was a member and president of the Coffeyville Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce. In 1964, he was voted Man of the Year by the Kansas State Chamber. Jack was also a 32nd Degree Mason and a member of the Mirza Shrine, Coffeyville Historical Society, and the American Red Cross. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church for over seventy years where he held the position of deacon and elder. His real interest however, lay in the Montgomery County Fair Board and the Interstate Fair and Rodeo. He was appointed to the Fair Board in 1952 and was re-elected to the Board of Directors for thirty years, serving as president multiple times until he elected to retire, at which time he was made an Honorary Lifetime Member. Jack was also president of the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson in 1964. Jack enjoyed golf and hunting quail and dove with his friends, and years later doing both with his grandson, Jack. In his later years, he gave up the frustration of golf and hunting, but continued to ride his beloved quarter horses. Jack had a horse all of his life, beginning with a pony given to him by his grandparents at his birth. In high school, he rode his Uncle John McMillion's Tennessee Walkers and bought his first quarter horse in 1949. Jack passed away at his home on October 27, 2012. He was preceded in death by his daughter Jacqueline Sue in 1981, and his wife of fifty four years, Emma Jane in 2000. He is survived by his daughter Jann Brooks Pendry and her husband Charles of Palm Beach, FL., grandson Jack Brooks Pendry of Lawrence, KS., granddaughter Jane Dibrell Pendry of Palm Beach, FL., and a sister, Beverly Brooks Temple of Lawrence, KS. Services are scheduled for 2:00 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012, at the First Presbyterian Church in Coffeyville with Pastor Diane Massey officiating. Inurnment will be at the Restlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Coffeyville. Friends may sign the register book on Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the David W. Barnes Funeral Home in Coffeyville. The family suggests contributions in Mr. Brooks' name to the Montgomery County Fair Board or the First Presbyterian Church and may left with the funeral home or mailed care of David Barnes Funeral Home, 306 North Cline Road, Coffeyville, KS 67337.