Obituary of Beatrice Brooks

CAYCE—The funeral for Mrs. Beatrice Brooks, 96, of Cayce will be held at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, October 24, 2013 at Cayce United Methodist Church, 12th Street, Cayce. Burial will be at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens in Columbia. The family will receive visitors and friends Wednesday, October 23, 2013 from 5-7 p.m. at Thompson Funeral Home of West Columbia on State Street. Mrs. Brooks died Monday, October 21, 2013 at Lexington Medical Center. She was born October 3, 1917, in Orangeburg County a daughter of the late James Willie Eugene Whetstone and the late Edna Blackmon Whetstone. She was a graduate of Willow High School in Norway. She was the first in her family to pursue post-high school education, graduating as an RN from Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in 1940. She posted the second-highest State Board score in South Carolina that year. She pursued her RN career in South Carolina, Virginia and Florida and she volunteered for the Red Cross and many other religious and charitable activities. Mrs. Brooks was a member of Grace Methodist Church, Atlanta; Palm Beach Methodist Church, West Palm Beach, FL; Stone Mountain United Methodist Church, Stone Mountain, GA in earlier years and Cayce United Methodist since 1981. She was devoted to the church and was named Woman of the Year by the United Methodist Women in three different states. Mrs. Brooks was predeceased by her beloved husband, Roy Maxwell Brooks, three brothers, Vance H. Whetstone, Morrison W. Whetstone and James G. Whetstone and two sisters, Deloris Whetstone Gleaton and Gwendolyn Whetstone Calcutt, all of the Orangeburg area. Survivors include her daughter, Mrs. Alice Brooks Youngblood, and son-in-law, Jerry L. Youngblood; two sisters, Hattie Whetstone Brown of Cayce, and Mrs. Thomas (Billie Carter) of Orangeburg; and numerous and beloved nieces, nephews and lifelong friends. The family will receive guests following internment at their residence, 1103 Lafayette Avenue in Cayce. Memorials may be made to Cayce United Methodist Church, 1600 12th Street, Cayce, SC 29033 or MedNeed of SC, PO Box 6882, West Columbia, SC 29169