Obituary of Alice Frances Brooks

Alice Frances Brooks, 98, a longtime resident of Rochester, died Monday, Jan. 26, 2015, at Folkestone Gables in Wayzata. Alice was born March 5, 1916, in St. Paul, to Edward and Myrtle (Errington) McCallum. She moved to Rochester as a young child where her father worked for the Chicago Great Western Railroad. She attended Hawthorne Elementary school, graduated from Rochester High School and shortly thereafter began her 40-year career with NW Bell, retiring as a service advisor. On Nov. 8, 1938, she married Stanley James Brooks. The couple resided in Rochester all of their lives and had been married for 73 years at the time of his death in 2012. Alice was a violinist, tap dancer and gifted athlete, having met her future husband on the skating rink at Mayo Park. She was known as a fashion plate and loved clothes. She was a member of the Telephone Pioneers and a lifelong member of Christ UMC. Alice is survived by her two children, Barbara (Les) Hexum, of Wayzata, and David (Jill) Brooks, Ocala, Fla.; and her brother, Richard (Donis) McCallum, of Rochester. She was affectionately know as NanNan to her granddaughters, Stacy Lundberg and Sarah (Tony) Grobel; and grandsons, Jeffrey (Jodi) Hexum, Matthew (Tammy) Hexum, Marc (Kerri) Hexum, Steven Brooks and James (Sara) Brooks; and 13 great-grandchildren. She will be missed by many cousins and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband; sister, Helen McCallum; and brother, George McCallum. A memorial service is planned at Christ UMC in Rochester in May on a date to be announced later.