Louise Brooks, 93, of Tucson, Arizona, passed away on June 14, 2021, after a brief illness.  She was born on July 28, 1927, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as Louise Gottesman, the fourth and youngest child of Louis Gottesman and Clara Hyman.

 

Her life was rich in experience as a college professor, hospital administrator, and world traveler.  After graduating with a degree in sociology from Newcomb College (now part of Tulane University), she earned a master’s from University of California at Berkeley and completed coursework for a doctorate from the New School for Social Research, also in sociology.  As a career changer in her forties, she obtained additional bachelor’s and master’s degrees for Medical Records Administration from Downstate in Brooklyn. She spent a year in Saipan and later spent a year in Paris and made Wellfleet in Cape Cod her home for many years.  In 2002 she came to Tucson, where she actively engaged in learning experiences at OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Arizona).

 

Louise married three times.  First, to Frank William Howton (1925-2012); they had two children. After their divorce, she married Sidney Manning Brooks, and after his death, to Nathan Richman, who also preceded her in death.

 

Louise is survived by her daughter Erica Howton of Tucson, and her son Joseph Howton of Portland; two grandsons, Daniel and Peter; one sister in law; and eleven nieces and nephews - and their children.  She was preceded in death by her brother, Frederick Gottesman, and her sisters, Evelyn Goldstein and Ruth Cohen.  Her last words to us were "I have a wonderful family".

 

No services are planned.  May her memory be a blessing for a life fully lived! The next time you are at the fantastic Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, which she loved, you'll see a brick commemorating her life.  

 

Contributions honoring her to https://olli.arizona.edu/ are most gratefully accepted.