Civil Servant, Church Member and Volunteer

Gertie Lee Brooks, a retired civil servant whose passion for service and giving to those in need extended far beyond her church community, died of lung cancer July 2 at Manor Care Nursing Home in Chevy Chase. She was 69.

Mrs. Brooks worked for more than 30 years for the D.C. government and became chief of the benefits division in the D.C. Department of Employment Service's office of unemployment insurance. She retired in the mid-1990s.

Mrs. Brooks was one of the original members of the East Capitol Street Church of Christ in Northeast Washington and most recently was a member of the Suitland Road Church of Christ in Suitland. Through the church, she was involved in efforts to feed the homeless and needy. She was also a frequent speaker at church functions.

In addition, Mrs. Brooks volunteered at Children's Hospital, the Veterans Affairs hospital in the District, Washington Hospital Center and Heartland nursing home in Hyattsville. She appeared at area nursing homes every year at Christmas as "Mrs. Santa Claus" to pass out gifts and socks she had collected.

For many years, Mrs. Brooks dressed up in a red costume, complete with white beard and hat, and distributed toys to motorists along some of the major arteries in Northeast Washington. She was called "grandmother" by many children who could always find baked goods in her back seat and trunk.

She was born Evelyn Gertie Lee Clingman in Winston-Salem, N.C., moved to the District as a teenager and graduated from Anacostia High School in 1958. She attended the old Federal City College and Prince George's Community College. She was a longtime Capitol Heights resident and most recently lived with a granddaughter in the District.

She was also involved with the American Cancer Society and Tomorrow's World Art Center, a nonprofit community center for the arts. She enjoyed jumping rope in recent years, including the "Double Dutch" style involving two ropes.

Her marriage to John Brooks ended in divorce. She then became the companion of Andrew Davis for more than 30 years and married him shortly before his death in 2000.

Survivors include two children from her first marriage, Wanda James of Fort Worth and Timothy Brooks of Capitol Heights; and five grandchildren.