Frances Jacquelyn Brooks

Frances Jacquelyn “Jackie” Brooks, 94, died March 31 surrounded by her family and the loving staff at Our Family Home in Worthington, Ohio. Jackie was an artist, designer, model, antiques dealer, seamstress and creative spirit known for transforming Goodwill “finds” into beautiful homes and wardrobes. She was an uncommon beauty, with high cheekbones and blue eyes, who turned men’s heads even into her 80s. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, who taught everyone to speak up, be all you can be, and make a difference in the world. She was born March 15, 1923, to Robert and Mabel Kocher in Zanesville. She was the oldest of six Kocher children who grew up in the old Putnam neighborhood of Zanesville. She graduated from Zanesville Lash High School in 1941, and soon after married William Aber Brooks, who was stationed in Mobile, Ala. during WWII. After the war, they returned to Zanesville, where they raised three children in the raucous family home on Norwood Boulevard. During the late 1940s and early 50s, Jackie was a fashion model in print and on runways. She worked for local department stores, modeling new styles by wearing them through the busy aisles and posing in the storefront windows on Saturdays. When her youngest child, Christopher, went to kindergarten, she fulfilled a dream of becoming an artist by enrolling in her first art class at the Zanesville Art Institute (now Zanesville Art Center). She was soon “discovered” by Dr. Charles Dietz, who guided her into many media. Her paintings and assemblages now hang in homes throughout the country. Two pieces are in the permanent collection at the Art Center. Her artistry transcended the formal as she created her own masterpieces, usually starting with a discarded bit of “junque” at the Goodwill or the local dump, then casting, gluing, painting and otherwise putting her touch on items for her and others’ homes. Jackie designed and made her own clothes, based on the latest couture collections. She was thought to be the only woman in Zanesville, Ohio, to subscribe to Women’s Wear Daily. In the early 1970s, she and her friend, Dot Hill, ran an antiques shop called The Cellar in Zanesville. They bought and sold antiques and collectibles, and Jackie also made and sold fudge, another creation for which she was known and appreciated by many generations of friends and family. In the early 1980s, a few years after the death of her husband, she moved to Worthington, to be near her family. She bought a house in Old Worthington, and enjoyed decorating it with her art and antiques. She also became a tennis player in her later years. She played at Olympic Indoor Tennis and on the Worthington Cardinal Booster summer team. She also belonged to the Worthington Presbyterian Church, Worthington Area Art League, Worthington Arts Council, Worthington Women’s Club, and Worthington Historical Society. Her house was featured on one of the Historical Society’s home tours. Jackie’s vibrant life was dimmed in her early 70s, when she began showing signs of Alzheimer’s Disease, which eventually took her life after a remarkable 20-plus year battle. Even into her final hours, she remained feisty and outspoken, finding ways to tell everyone that she was there and she still had an opinion. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bill; her sister, Colleen “Koky” Dishon; and her brothers, David, Paul, and Daniel Kocher; and her loving caregiver, Amy Greene. She is survived by her children, William (Jackie) Brooks, of Worthington; Candy (Stephen Rodocker) Brooks, of Worthington; and Christopher (Jennifer Rawlings) Brooks, of Los Angles and New York. She is also survived by her grandsons, Peter Brooks (Jennifer) Rodocker of Westerville; William Brooks of Columbus; Robert Brooks of Worthington; and Harrison Brooks, of Portland, Oregon. Also surviving are seven great grandchildren: Millisa, Ashlee, Reese, and Cohen Brooks; and Jackson, Lily, and Duke Rodocker. She is also survived by her brother, Robert (Connie) Kocher, of Canton; and many nieces and nephews. Calling hours will be 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Rutherford Corbin Funeral Home, 515 High St., Worthington. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Worthington Presbyterian Church, 773 High St, Worthington. A private burial will take place later at Zanesville Memorial Park.

Frances Jacquelyn Brooks

March 13, 1923 - March 31, 2017