Ruth Brooks

RUTH BROOKS

West Union

Ruth Brooks, 101, passed away May 5, 2015.

Born Dec. 2, 1913, Ruth was the daughter of Charles Clark and Mabel (Spencer) Hidinger. She was the last surviving member of the West Union High School class of 1932. She married Joseph Armand Brooks on July 27, 1932, in Reno, Nev. They settled in West Union, where Ruth worked as an office assistant for Dr. Harry Moen before working as a lab and x-ray technician at the West Union Community Hospital (in the building the historical center now occupies) and Palmer Memorial Hospital for many years.

Armand passed away in 1973. Ruth married Carlton "Curt Chamberlain in 1992. He died in 2000.

Ruth worked for more than 20 years as a volun-teer at the Fayette County Historical Center, sorting, filing and researching every afternoon. She also was active in the Genealogical Society, Senior Citizens, Fayette County Tourism and DAR for many years.

Survivors include her daughter, Rebecca (Randy) Taff, San Diego, Calif.; son, Jon (Linda) Brooks, Milton, Fla.; four grandchildren, Joseph (Hope) Brooks, Spanish Fort, Ala., Paul Brooks, Milton, Fla., Lisa (Brian) Taff Long, Denver, Colo., and Nicholas Taff, Oceanside, Calif.; and six great-grandchildren, Marina Brooks, Robert Taylor, Danielle Brooks, Regan Brooks, Alisa Hemley Brooks and Sophia Brooks.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands, a son in infancy and her granddaughter, Penny Brooks Taylor.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Ruth to the Fayette County Historical Museum in West Union or Palmer Hospice, whose services allowed Ruth to live her last days in her own home.

Graveside services will be 1 p.m. Friday, May 8, at West Union Cemetery.