Mary Ann Morris Brooks
Mary Ann Morris Brooks, 84, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, at Pruitt Health in Raleigh, N.C. It was the end of a long, active life during which she rode camels in the Sahara Desert and elephants in Southeast Asian jungles; she visited the Great Wall of China and the Great Pyramids of Giza. Now she can rest.
Mrs. Brooks and her late husband, William Joseph Brooks, were long-time residents of Rock Hill, S.C, and members of Woodland United Methodist Church, where they were active in the Fellowship Sunday school class and served as leaders of the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF).
Mrs. Brooks was born on Jan. 2, 1938, in Cedartown, Ga., the oldest daughter of Charlie Franklin Morris and Elizabeth Woody Morris. Her family moved to Tallapoosa, Ga., when she was a little girl and she grew up there, graduating from Tallapoosa High School in 1956. She worked as a seamstress at Sewell Manufacturing Co. in Bremen, Ga., and married “Billy Joe” Brooks, her high school sweetheart, on Dec. 20, 1957.
The Brooks family moved to Birmingham, Ala., in 1964 and eventually relocated to Rock Hill in 1971. Mrs. Brooks raised her three children there and worked as the school secretary at Oakdale Elementary School in Rock Hill School District 3 for many years. Outside her professional life, she served many children’s and youth organizations.
She was an avid quilter, a craft she learned from her mother. She traveled the world with her husband. Their junkets included the Far East (China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan and Singapore) as well as Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Malta, Great Britain, the Caribbean and extensive travels in the United States.
She is survived by two sons, Richard Arlen Brooks (Brenda Little) of Beaufort, S.C., and Steven Mark Brooks (Laura) of Raleigh, N.C.; a daughter, Amanda Brooks Mackey of Durham, N.C.; three grandchildren, James Ambrose Mackey (Leigh Stroud) of Durham, N.C., William Brooks Mackey of Fairfax, Va., and Mary-Margaret Brooks Rice (Ben) of Baltimore, Md.; two sisters, June Morris Floyd of Douglasville, Ga., and Patsy Morris Williams of Tallapoosa, Ga.; a brother-in-law, David Mabry Brooks (Patricia) of Newnan, Ga.; and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life is scheduled for 2 a.m. Saturday, July 23, 2022, at Woodland United Methodist Church followed by a reception in Wesley Hall. Mrs. Brooks’ ashes will be interred privately in the church Memorial Garden.
The family suggests that those who wish may make a memorial contribution in lieu of flowers to Woodland United Methodist Church, 801 Cherry Road, Rock Hill, S.C., 29732 (www.woodlandumcrockhill.org/give).
