Brooks, Carol Beth (Mrs. John M.) 1950-2023

BROOKS, DEJONG, KREYKES

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 3/29/2023 at 13:04:30

Mrs. Carol Brooks, age 72, of Orange City, passed away on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center in Sioux City.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 25, at 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City, with the Rev. Mark Haverdink officiating. A luncheon and time of visitation with the family will follow the service. The Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City is in charge of arrangements.

Carol Beth was born to Peter S. and Lois L. De Jong on August 13, 1950, in Orange City. When she was a child, her family made their home in several different areas before settling in Orange City, where Carol graduated from the Maurice-Orange City High School in 1968.

She had a brief marriage to Rodney Kreykes, with whom she had two daughters, before she met the love of her life, John M. Brooks, and married him on August 11, 1982, in Memphis, Tennessee. She and John made their home in numerous communities in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, where Carol worked as a store manager for J.C. Penney’s, a career she began in 1976.

Carol and John resided in Quincy, Illinois, until John’s retirement, when they moved to Orange City. John passed away on March 23, 2017, in Orange City, after more than 34 years of marriage. Carol remained in Orange City until suffering a stroke in September of 2021, when she moved to Ankeny, to live with her daughter as she worked to regain her strength and mobility. In November of 2022, Carol returned to Northwest Iowa, where she was a resident of the Crown Pointe Estates in Sioux Center.

Mrs. Brooks was currently a member of the First Reformed Church in Orange City. She enjoyed spending time in her garden and canning her produce so she could share it with others. She also liked to watch movies and listen to books on tape, as well as play games and solve puzzles. She was an avid fan of the Iowa State Cyclones and regularly watched their football and basketball games. Carol’s greatest joys in life were her family and friends, and she cherished her time with them.

She will be deeply missed by her two daughters and their husbands, Sarah and Daniel Reines, of Westlake Village, California; and Susan and Kent Christopherson, of Ankeny; six grandchildren, Mia Reines; Max Reines; Lilah Reines; Jacob Christopherson, and his wife, Margaret; Leah Christopherson; and Anna Christopherson; three brothers and their wives, Harlan and Glenda De Jong, of Sioux Center; Rodney and Viola De Jong, of Orange City; and Gerald and Banj De Jong, of Alton; a sister and her husband, Rachael and Roger Brunsting, of Orange City; two brothers-in-law and their wives, Bob and Jan Brooks, of Rochester, Minnesota; and Bill and Ann Brooks, of Ocala, Florida; along with numerous nieces, nephews, adopted grandchildren, and friends.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by John’s parents, Millard and Marie Brooks; and a brother-in-law, Bruce Kuiken.

Memorials will be given to On With Life Rehabilitation in Ankeny.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.