Beverly Brooks Conant, of Topsham, died Jan. 24, 2010, following a long and courageous battle with Parkinson Disease. Beverly was born June 20, 1929, in Brockton, Mass., the eldest child of the late Francis A. Brooks and Phyllis (Fox) Brooks. She was the beloved wife of Benjamin Conant, whose care sustained her through her illness. They married July 22, 1950. The Brooks family moved to Pembroke, Mass., in the 1940s, and she was a graduate of Pembroke High School, Class of 1947. Beverly was an excellent athlete who was a cheerleader for Pembroke High School and held the scoring record for the girls basketball team for many years. She played tennis, bowled in a candlepin league, taught her children to ice skate and was a lifelong Red Sox fan. Bev loved her family and friends, enjoyed singing and laughter and demonstrated her love in many ways. She led a Campfire Girls group and rarely missed a concert or athletic event in which her children participated. Her home was filled with music. She also sang in several community choruses and, as a member of the First Church of Pembroke and the Norwell UCC, she sang in the church choirs. She resided in Pembroke for more than 50 years, before moving to Topsham in 1998. In Maine, she enjoyed singing in the choir of the First Parish Church of Brunswick. Bev was a librarian for the town of Pembroke and kept a large vegetable and flower garden. She was a competent seamstress and created much of the clothing for herself and her family. She traced her ancestry to the American Revolution and was a member of the DAR. She is survived by her husband, Benjamin Conant of Topsham; her daughter, Susan Cook and her husband James Cook of Waterville; her son, Peter Conant and his wife Elisabeth Goodridge of Appleton; grandchildren, Benjamin L. Conant of Peterborough, N.H., and Rebecca Conant of New York City, and their mother, Debbi Conant of Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.; and Emily and David Cook of Waterville; two brothers, Francis Bud Brooks and his wife Isabel of Dallas and Philip Brooks and his wife Jane of Lyle, Wash.; sister-in-law, Marilyn Brooks of Bryantville, Mass.; brother-in-law, David Conant and his wife Lynn of Denver; and numerous nephews and nieces. Beverly was predeceased by her brother, John Homer Brooks. A memorial service will be held at the First Parish Church of Brunswick, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Music Program of the First Parish Church, 9 Cleaveland St., Brunswick, ME 04011, or American Parkinson Disease Association, Inc., 135 Parkinson Ave., Staten Island, NY 10305.


Published in The Patriot Ledger on 1/30/2010