Betty Brooks

Betty Noland Brooks, 91, of Huntsville, Alabama passed away peacefully at home on Friday November 29th surrounded by her family.

Betty was born on a farm in Fines Creek, North Carolina on December 21, 1927 to the late David Reeves Noland and the late Lucile Ferguson Noland DuBois.  Betty grew up on a farm in an impoverished area of the Appalachian Mountains during the Depression.  Her father served on the Boards of North Carolina State College and the Greater University of North Carolina.  Betty believed education was essential to get ahead.  She was class valedictorian of Fines Creek High School and graduated from the University of Tennessee where she met the love of her life, Jack.  Betty played basketball for the Lady Vols before they were an official team and loved watching them on Sundays with Jack.  Betty earned a Master’s Degree in Education and taught school for 35 years before retiring from Lee High School as head of the Social Studies Department.  Many of her former students would come up to her later in life to thank her for her encouragement and crediting her for them graduating high school and college.  Betty said she was always firm, fair and reasonable.

Betty taught the value of hard work.  Some of her sayings will be remembered, “You can have whatever you want as long as you can afford it” and “If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, how are you going to find time to do it over?”  She kept an immaculate garden and flower beds.  Betty took pride in her roses and won many ribbons in rose shows.  She loved playing bridge, sewing window treatments for family and friends, going to ADK meetings, volunteering at Huntsville Hospital and the Botanical Garden and hosting family get-togethers with card tables filling up every area of her home to seat them all.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband of more than 65 years, Morris Jackson (Jack) Brooks, and her sister Peggy Noland Koch (Bob).  She is survived by her daughter Suzetta Brooks Jones (Al), sons Morris “Mo” J. Brooks, Jr. (Martha) and W. Timothy (Tim) Brooks (Rebecca); brother, David Noland; ten grandchildren, and sixteen great grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 10:00 until 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 15th at Wells Funeral Home of Waynesville followed by graveside service at Green Hill Cemetery.  A reception will follow at the Waynesville Inn Golf Resort (twigolfresort.com).

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 or the Huntsville Botanical Garden, 4747 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35805.

The care of Mrs. Brooks has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Homes and an online memorial register is available at "Obituaries" at www.wellsfuneralhome.com