Brooke Ann Barker

Brooke Ann Barker, 63, of New Berlin, passed away in the early morning hours of February 9, 2022 at Angels Grace Hospice. A lifelong learner and teacher, gardener and caregiver, she hid both a doctorate in English Literature and a law degree behind a shy and self-deprecating smile. Wise and learned, she loved and accepted those around her while often seeming just a bit puzzled and bemused by their manifest oddnesses. Brooke attended Marquette University for her bachelors, masters and law degrees, and the University of North Carolina for her doctorate. She worked in a variety of jobs in the non-profit and educational sectors, including as a teacher at multiple universities, at Woodland Pattern Book Center, elder law and social services in Madison, and most recently as departmental assistant in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee English Department. But her greatest loves were always making things—stories and essays, gardens and sweaters, jams and wines, bread and cookies of legend--all freely distributed to close friends and family. Surrounded by dense stacks of books and CDs, movies and electronic media, fan fiction and seed catalogues, there was always another garden to till, another lawn to mow, plants to repot, trees to trim, cats to feed, books to read, furniture to build. She rarely did one thing at a time, reading emails while knitting, a football game in the background and a timer set while the bread was rising; she developed a deep knowledge of diverse topics ranging from Renaissance and Early Modern literature to old Japanese samurai TV series and sci-fi fan fiction, and from chain saws to pool chemistry. Over the years she served as caregiver to a series of family members, including an aunt, Minnie Combs Barker (previously of Nashville, Tennessee), her mother Bernice Ellen Reid Barker (nee Wade), father J. Stacey Barker, and classificatory aunt Jeraldine Marchant, all of New Berlin. She offered love and service, time and energy to them during their lives, and barely had time to re-establish her own life when she learned she herself had cancer. For over a year she endured surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, and the indignities of a fiercely independent woman priding herself on helping others now having to accept help in turn. She did so with grace and what patience she could muster—always more patience for others than for herself. She is survived by her brother Alex, nephews Aidan and Rhys, niece Elliot, and much-loved cousins and extended family. At her request no memorial service is planned.