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- Anchorage Daily News (AK)
January 3, 2008
Natalie H. Brooks, 72, died in her sleep on Jan. 1, 2008, at her home in Chugiak.
Natalie was born July 20, 1935, in Merrimac, Mass., to Marian and Kenneth Haskell.
Her musical training began at age 4 with piano lessons, and by the 1950s she was an accompanist for her high school choir. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Boston University in 1957 and taught music in Bucksport, Maine, from 1957 to 1960. In 1960, Natalie came to Alaska to teach music at Chugiak Elementary School, when it was the only school in the area. Later, she began teaching choir at Birchwood Elementary. That same year, she became choir director, pianist and organist at the United Methodist Church of Chugiak, where she served for 30 years.
She met Chris Brooks when he joined the church choir and they were married in 1962.
Music continued to be an important part of her life as she and Chris raised their three children. She served as an accompanist for school musical events, weddings and funerals and she taught piano students for 50 years. Natalie's life was one of service to her church and community. She was a member of United Methodist Church boards and commissions at the local, state and national levels including United Methodist Women's Racial Justice Committee and the General Commission on Race and Religion. She was a lay speaker and received the Alaska Missionary Conference's Lay Person of the Year Award in 1988 and 1996. Her work as a counselor and dean at Birchwood Camp touched the lives of many young people.
As a founding member of Chugiak Children's Services, Natalie served on the board for 14 years. In 1975, she established a prison ministry at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center teaching piano, directing a choir, and providing visitation and outreach for 29 years. She was a member and the first chair of the Hiland Mountain Citizen's Advisory Committee. Honors for her community service include the Gruening Award in 1982 and the First Lady's Volunteer Award in 1998. In 1999, she received the Mayor's Award for Community Service as a co-founder and first president for the Chugiak-Eagle River Historical Society.
Natalie is survived by her husband, Chris Brooks of Chugiak; her daughter and son-in-law, Melora and Gary Jackson of Perkinson, Miss.; her son and daughter-in-law, Kenneth and Jana Brooks, and grandchildren, Jennifer and Connor of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho; and her son, Lee Brooks of Olympia, Wash.; cousin and foster brother, Ernest Brooks of Seal Harbor, Maine; and foster daughter, Tina Cortez of Eagle River.
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1935 - 2008 (72 years)
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