She loved to cook and bake, and delighted many family and friends with her wonderful meals and desserts. She and Doc owned several recreational vehicles, and in their retirement years traveled to almost every state and Canada, including two trips to Alaska.In 1989, just two months after Wilda’s heart attack and coronary artery bypass surgery, they moved from their home of 34 years to Sun City West, AZ. They enjoyed their new home there and became involved in starting a new church, Sun City West Christian Church, where they were charter members and actively involved in leadership and the building of the new church.Doc died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1996. With her health failing, Wilda decided to move to Ventura, CA in 2005 to be closer to her daughter Linda and her family. She resided at The Bonaventure, where she enjoyed “gracious retirement living” and making new friends and joining in activities, including playing “Hand and Foot,” cooking, and Bible study. She was also a member of the Red Hat Society.Wilda will be remembered for her strength in the face of adversity, which she attributed to her deep and abiding faith in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and for her friendliness and ever-present smile. She will also be remembered for her love and devotion to her family and friends.Besides her husband and infant son, Wilda was preceded in death by her parents and all of her siblings. She is survived by her children, Judy Fergus (husband Joe) of Lewisburg, OH, Linda Stegman (husband David) of Ventura, and Dane Brooks of Redmond, OR; grandchildren, Todd Fergus (wife Kim) of Lewisburg, OH, Victoria Van Zandt of Dayton, OH, Timothy Stegman (wife Robin) of Concord, CA, Andrea Stegman of Ventura, and Colton Brooks of Redmond, OR; great-granddaughters Abigail, Emma and Claire Fergus, Claudia Van Zandt, and Elizabeth Stegman; and numerous other relatives and friends.A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 27 at Ventura Missionary Church, 500 High Point Dr., Ventura. Interment will be at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona with her husband on October 3, and a memorial service on October 4 at 2 p.m. at Sun City West Christian Church, 20803 N. 151st Ave., Sun City West, AZ. Contributions in her memory may be made to Sun City West Christian Church at this address, or to a charity of your choice.
Obituary
September 24, 2008
Obituaries
Wilda Mae Brooks
Wilda Mae Brooks passed from life on earth to her eternal home in Heaven on September 11, 2008 after a lengthy battle with heart disease and diabetes.Wilda was born on July 12, 1923 in Thompson, PA, and was the youngest of eight children born to Elmer and Charlotte Ohler Johnson. Her parents divorced when she was a baby and her mother married Earl Augustine, who raised her as his daughter.The family moved to Connellsville, PA, where Wilda attended school. She worked at Anchor Hocking Glass factory in Connellsville during and after World War II for eight years.In 1949 she married the love of her life, Darrell (“Doc”) Brooks. He was a carpenter, and together they built their first house outside of Connellsville.In 1951, they moved with daughters Judy and Linda to Baltimore, MD to find more work in construction for Doc. He worked for many years at Bethlehem Steel, retiring as a construction superintendent in 1982.A son, Richard, was born three months prematurely in 1953, and remained in the hospital for three months. He died at home three months later of pneumonia. They moved to Kingsville, MD in 1955, where they had purchased a three-acre cornfield and built their second home. Soon after moving to Kingsville, they were blessed with a healthy baby boy, Dane.Wilda was a stay-at-home mom and homemaker for most of her life. During her children’s years at home she was busy with volunteering at their schools, driving them to their activities, and involvement at various ministries at church. When the children were older, she worked part time for friends who owned a lumber and hardware business and joined a women’s bowling league.
