September 27, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Obituaries

Norma B. Brooks

Norma B. Brooks, 88, of Mt. Airy, a social worker and an activist in many social and political causes, died Sept. 17 of breast cancer at her home.

In the course of her professional life, Mrs. Brooks had worked for a variety of organizations, among them the Temple University Community Health Center and the university’s Reading Clinic, the Mental Health Association of Greater Philadelphia, the National Council of Jewish Women and the Traveler’s Aid Society.

She also was passionately involved in a broad range of social and political issues that included women’s health, peace and public education. In recent years, she actively opposed the war in Iraq and the attempt to privatize control of Philadelphia public schools.

She served on the original board of the Elizabeth Blackwell Women’s Health Center and was involved with RittenhouseTown, the Germantown YMCA and the Germantown Women’s Educational Project.

Mrs. Brooks and her late husband, Mort Brooks, were long active in the Weavers Way Co-op in Mt. Airy, and after her husband’s death in 1997, she took a leading role in the creation of the Weavers Way Mort Brooks Memorial Farm at Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown.

She volunteered at the Call for Action hotline and the Morris Arboretum, and was a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

A native of Philadelphia, Mrs. Brooks was a graduate of the city’s High School for Girls and Temple University. She met her husband while living in New York City, and the couple lived for a time in Hazleton, Pa., before returning to Philadelphia in 1960.

She is survived by sons Dana of Milton, Mass., and Barton and Joshua, both of Philadelphia; and three grandchildren.

Plans are underway for a  memorial service. Further information on the service will available at the Weavers Way Web site: www.weaversway. coop.

Memorial contributions can be made to Weavers Way Community Programs, 559 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia PA 19119, with “Farm Educational Program” on the memo line, or to the Wellness Community of Philadelphia, Suzanne Morgan Center, Chamounix Drive, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA, 19133.

James F. McGarity, Jr.

James F. McGarity, Jr., 84, of Sunrise at Blue Bell, formerly of Mt. Airy, died Sept. 24 at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

Mr. McGarity is survived by his wife, Babs (Flannery) McGarity; sons Frank and Joseph; daughters Meg Frankenfield and Joan Kross; sisters Kathleen Burns and Nancy Hely; seven grandchildren, and one great grandchild. A son, Mark, preceded him in death.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 28, at Holy Cross Church, 154 E. Mt. Airy Ave., in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. Interment will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made to the American Foundation for AIDS Research, 120 Wall St., 13th floor, New York, NY 10005.