Wilma Mae (Werning) Brooks, age 96, of Manhattan, passed away on December 31, 2023, at the Good Shepherd Homecare and Hospice House in Manhattan following a very brief illness.
She was born October 29, 1927 in a stone house on Cedar Creek near Manhattan, the daughter of Herman and Elizabeth (Hofmann) Werning.
Wilma moved with her family to the Mt Zion area at age 4, and has since lived her entire life along Lake Elbo Rd. She attended Swamp Angel School and graduated from St. George High School. She earned her Emergency Teaching Certificate from Kansas State College, and taught 1st through 8th grade for a couple years at Cracker Box School (Glenwood) and St George for $100/month.
On August 11, 1947, in Manhattan, she was married to John Brooks, Jr. This union was blessed with three sons: Ralph, Harold and Daniel.
Wilma was a cook for many years at Green Valley School. All the kids loved her, despite having to hide their peas on the ledge on the underside of the table so she wouldn't know they didn’t “clean up their plate”. She was also the office manager (The Boss) for the family business, K-Hill Engine for nearly 50 years.
She was a Bonfire 4-H Club leader for many years, a member of E.H.U. and ABWA, and enjoyed crocheting, quilting and spoiling her grandchildren. She was a history buff and loved researching the family genealogy. She wrote an autobiography in 1985 that detailed her life growing up in the depression. Up until the Covid pandemic, she continued to meet with best friends from high school, Betty Ball and Mildred Goehring for monthly pizza lunches. She also looked forward to playing 10 point pitch with the gang whenever possible.
Wilma was a prankster. She always had something silly to brighten everyone's day whether it was taking cupcakes (with a cotton ball baked in them) to work on April Fool's day, or strategically placing a whoopie cushion for the next unsuspecting victim of her antics. When grandkids visited, the first place they ran to was the room with the dresser full of jokes and pranks.
She was very proud of her Lake Elbo and Mt Zion communities. Just a week before her passing, she was honored to ring the first bell at her childhood church, Mt Zion, as it is currently undergoing resurrection after many years of abandonment. She also served on the election committee and worked the voting polls for Blue Township for several decades.
She was preceded in death by her husband John in 2015 and by her sister Gay Parker in 1995.
Survivors include her three sons: Ralph Brooks of Manhattan, Harold Brooks of Manhattan, and Daniel Brooks and his wife Linda of Wamego, and daughter-in-law Dorothy Ireland; seven grandchildren: Rachelle Brooks, Derek Brooks (Lana), Rustin Brooks (Kate), Tabatha Brooks-Miller, Ashley Lour (Tim), Autumn Spencer (Rob), and Jeremy Hittle (Amanda); 14 great grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren.
“I've lived the kind of life where even the funeral director will hate to see me go!” -Wilma
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M. Friday, January 5th, at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Chapel with Pastor Paul Barkey officiating. Interment will follow in the Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan.
The family will receive friends from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M. Thursday, January 4th, at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home.
Online condolences may be left for the family by clicking on "Share A Memory" on this page.
Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to: the Good Shepherd Homecare and Hospice House, Lake Elbo Club, or Bonfire 4-H Club. Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502.