Remembering Mrs. Sarah Brooks
Mrs. Sarah Brooks went to be with her Lord on Wednesday, November 11, 2020, (Veteran's Day) at 94 years old.
A resident of Grand Rapids, Sarah Brooks was born on August 16, 1926 in South Haven, Michigan to Charles and Mabel (Brown) Ash.
She was a member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church and had been employed by Rospatch & Label Co. and the Peninsular Club.
She will be most remembered for her work as a veteran's advocate. Sarah had been a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Crispus Attucks Unit #59 for 75 years, having held many offices in the local, state, district and national auxiliary organizations.
She had volunteered for Scarlet Rangers Drum & Bugle Corps, Grandville Senior Neighbors, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Mary Free Bed Hospital, Kent Community Hospital since 1990 and was Past Chapau of 8 et 40 La Boutique, an organization that supports children with respiratory diseases. She was one of the people who located the Unknown Black Soldier at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, MI.
Sarah was currently serving as Department of Michigan American Legion Auxiliary Hospital Representative at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans where she volunteered since 1958, having logged over 60,000 hours of service which is the equivalent of working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, without a single day off for nearly 29 years.
Sarah now rejoins her parents: Charles and Mabel Ash, her husband: John Robert Brooks Sr., her granddaughter: Myia Jennings- Shepard and her ten siblings.
Family was such an important part of Sarah's life. She leaves to mourn her legacy daughter: Sandra Jennings; son and special daughter-inlaw: Billy (Lenore) Smith Jr. of Lawrenceville, GA; daughters - in -law: Joyce Brooks of Indianapolis, IN and Paulette Davis of Raushville, IN; sisters-in- law: Wilma Ash and Edna Tucker of Gans, OK; grandchildren: Harvey (Ann) Brooks Jr. of IN; Raymond Shepard of NC; Jonathan (Desiree) Brooks of IN; Kara Brooks of MD; Erik Brooks of IN; Khalisha (Gregory) Greenlaw of MD; William (Louise) Smith III of GA; Gabriel (Shintosha) Jennings of NC; Aaron Smith of CA; Suntavia Smith of GA; great grandchildren: Xavier Curl, Isaiah Shepard, Jojo Shepard, Alana Smith, Amira Eller Jennings, Will Smith IV, Solaria Jennings, and Logan Jennings; great niece: Latrice Gilbreath, great - great nephew: Biggie Butler; niece: Yolanda Gilbreath, and like -son: Garfield Hodges as well as many other nieces, nephews and cousins; 40 year Prince street neighbor families: Eason, Hampton, Harper, Johnson, Lyle, Mallory, Proctor, Saverson, and Taylor, and more; dear girlfriend: Pam McVeigh; and girlfriend for over 65 years: Betty Rhodes Machen.
Services for Sarah Brooks were held on Monday, November 16, 2020 at Ivy K. Gillespie Memorial Chapel located at 1865 Eastern Avenue.
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: "I feel that basically my mother lead the best possible life that a person could lead," said daughter Sandra Jennings.
"She was dedicated to her cause and she truly showed us what passion for a cause can do for you. She had over 60,000 hours of service to her cause, primarily working with seniors and veterans."
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