Lesley Brooks was born on June 29, 1963, at the U.S. Air Force Base, Bitburg, Germany. On June 17, 2022, our beautiful and courageous Lesley went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She was surrounded by her loved ones at Hospice of Northwest Ohio (Toledo) as they sang the words to the song “Amazing Grace.”
Lesley was preceded in death by her parents, Bernadette (Birk) and Ozzie Brooks, of Wareham, Massachusetts. She is survived by her brothers, Duncan (Maureen) Brooks of Montgomery, Alabama, and Dunstan (Keiko) Brooks of Tosu, Japan; her one-and-only niece, Jozlyn Brooks, of Washington D.C.; her aunt, Louise (Brooks) Reamey, of Toledo, along with a host of cousins both here in the U.S. and in Great Britain, as well as a great company of loving friends, including her “Sis” Darla (Reynolds) Erickson of Westport, Massachusetts. Lesley had been a resident of Abundant Life of Perrysburg senior community since 2017.
Lesley graduated from Wareham High School in 1981 and from Lourdes University with a bachelor’s degree in art therapy in 2008. She was a talented and practicing artist her entire life. She enjoyed making jewelry, printmaking, painting, drawing and writing poetry. Lesley also volunteered at several places: Toledo Area Humane Society, Ebeid Hospice Residence, Toledo Hospital, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Neighborhood Properties, Inc. and her church, Calvary Church in Maumee. She also worked at the Westgate Dinner Theater and Target in Toledo.
She was a joyful, lighthearted, creative, loving and loyal friend with a child-like heart. Her adorable laugh and smile will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her, and especially by her comfort-kitty of five years, her beloved Juju B, provided by the Toledo Area Humane Society in 2017.
In a reflection that Lesley wrote in 2017, she stated, “I have peace, I have hope in Christ. I take less psychological meds, I have a full life. God gave me that.”
Lesley’s visitation and memorial services were held last week at the Sujkowski-Walker Funeral Home in Rossford and at Calvary Church, in Maumee.
The family wants to offer its sincerest thanks to Lesley’s many friends and acquaintances who supported her throughout her life, during her battle with cancer and at her passing, by their many acts of kindness. They also want to publicly thank the staff of both Mercy Health-Perrysburg Hospital and Hospice of Northwest Ohio (Toledo) for their compassion during the final stages of her life.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to any of the following: Toledo Area Humane Society, Calvary Church, Toledo Museum of Art Classes Scholarship Fund in Lesley’s name or to the Lesley Brooks Burial Fund at Fifth/Third Bank.