Lela "Sue" Brooks' Obituary
BROOKS, Lela “Sue”, age 94, of Waynesville, passed away Friday, January 10, 2025, at Kettering Hospital.
Sue owned and operated Brooksies Beauty Shop from her home for 35 years. In addition, she volunteered in the gift shop at Kettering Hospital for 10 years. It always made her proud that she was working in the gift shop when one of her grandchildren was born. She was one of the founding members of the Waynesville First Baptist Church. Always active in church, she taught four and five-year-olds in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School for many years. In recent years, she helped with Awanas. While the kids were growing up, she served as a Den Mother for Tom’s Cub Scouts group. Sue served as the band manager for her son’s band for many years. As a manager, she maintained records, kept receipts and records of band earnings, etc. She was instrumental in obtaining many of the gigs they participated in, allowing the band to focus on entertaining.
Friendly, adventurous, and somewhat eccentric, Sue was outgoing, talkative, and loved life. She was always on the go and loved being around people. She greatly enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening. She also loved to travel and created many memories with family and friends during the trips. She especially reminisced about visiting England, Italy, and France. Always talkative, she made friends easily and made pen pals with many people from foreign countries. In particular, she became close friends with a family in France, which created opportunities for them to visit her in the United States and for her to visit them in France. The friendship lasted over 30 years, which she always cherished. She also traveled with Kash Amburgy to the Holy Land through her faith in God. She loved to sing in church and was very proud that she got to sing at the Dead Sea during one of her Holy Land trips. In addition, she had the opportunity to study the latest hairdressing techniques in London with a famous hairdresser at the time. Her other hobbies included sewing and quilting. She belonged to a quilting club in Spring Valley, making friends, quilts, and other projects. She always appreciated art, was faithful at studying Bible history, and enjoyed attending family reunions. Sue had 11 siblings and enjoyed the tradition of traveling back to the area where she was born in Kentucky for family get-togethers. Specifically, she made it a point of visiting in July for her mom’s birthday but often found herself visiting regularly.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Andy, in 1998; one grandson, Elliott Brooks; her parents, Clofus and Clara Johnson; four brothers, Tyson, Carl, Clofus Jr., and Phillip Johnson; and six sisters, Louise Venable, Doris Johnson, Juanita Pressley, Jeanette Lake, Mildred Rains, and Ethel Hurst. She is survived by her son, Tom (Clara) Brooks; daughter, Carol (Tom) Rickey; five grandchildren, Nick (Amanda) Smith, Michael (Robin) Brooks, Andrew Rickey, Alexander (Melanie) Rickey, and Chase Rickey; 10 great-grandchildren, Leona, Nicholas Jr., Oliver, Layla, Mya, Michael Jr., Edison, Sullivan, Marcella, and George; and one brother, Steve (Jane) Johnson.
Funeral services will be held 1 PM Friday, January 17 at Stubbs-Conner Funeral Home in Waynesville. Burial will be in Miami Cemetery, Corwin. Dale McCloud will be serving the family. The family will receive friends 11 AM - 1 PM Friday at the funeral home. Condolences at www.stubbsconner.com.
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