Mickey Sparger Brooks

 Mickey Brooks, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and teacher of hundreds of young adults, passed away at her home Sunday April 4, 2010 after a determined and hard-fought eight-year battle against breast cancer. She was 61 years old.   Funeral services will take place at First United Methodist Church on North Main Street in Lexington on Wednesday April 7, 2010 at 2:00 PM.  The funeral service will be conducted by Dr. Jim H. Martin and family friends Reverend Randy Hall and Dr. Lee Dukes III. Burial will follow the service at Forest Hill Memorial Park.. Visitation will be held on Tuesday April 6 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Davidson Funeral Home, 301 North Main Street, in Lexington. The family will also receive guests at other times at the Brooks’ home at 2 Cedar Lane in Lexington.  Per Mickey’s special request, guests are encouraged to wear Carolina blue or other light, uplifting colors in lieu of traditional black.   Mickey was born Myriel Hayes Sparger in Lexington on January 10, 1949, to William Allen Sparger and Johnnie Muriel Hayes Sparger. She was preceded in death by a younger sister, Suzie, who passed away at an early age. Surviving are two brothers, William Allen Sparger Jr. in Charlotte and John Franklin Sparger in Lexington.     Mickey is survived by her high school sweetheart and loving husband of 44 years, Sparky Brooks, and their three children: Whitney Allyn Brooks of Lexington, Laura Cameron Brooks of North Myrtle Beach, and Daniel Harrison Brooks of Lexington. She also has one grandson, Cooper Hayes Lott, of North Myrtle Beach.   Mickey graduated with honors from Vardell Hall Junior College in Red Springs, NC, in 1969. There she served as student body president. She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University in 1971, where she was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority.   A dedicated teacher, Mickey began her career at Central Davidson Middle School in 1971. Several years later she opened The Sampler, a popular needlework store in downtown Lexington. She returned to teaching in the mid-1980s and ultimately landed at North Davidson Middle School, where she taught until she retired in February 2009. Many young adults in Davidson County learned to properly set a dinner table, knit a garment, sew materials together, cook their own meals, use proper etiquette and conduct a successful job interview because of the skills they learned in Mrs. Brooks’ home economics career skills classes.  She firmly believed that success in life skills equals success in life as an adult and encouraged each student to follow the path that best fit him- or herself.   Mickey was honored as a former Teacher of the Year at North Davidson Middle School and was selected as one of three finalists for Davidson County Teacher of the Year. A longtime member of the Ram’s Club of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she enjoyed spending her Saturday afternoons cheering for the Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium. She served as a member of the Charity League of Lexington and boasted a reputation for the many creative and detailed costumes she personally designed and hand-sewed for a number of the organization’s annual plays. She was a member of the City Club of Lexington and the Genesis Sunday School Class at First United Methodist Church, served as an administrative board member at First Methodist, and formerly headed the church’s children’s department and Vacation Bible School. She also taught Sunday school in the children’s department. Mickey was also selected as a finalist for the Business and Professional Women’s Club (BPW) award when she owned and operated The Sampler needlework shop.   Many knew Mickey as a quiet but witty and poised woman who firmly stood her ground on all occasions. A striking woman, she made a lasting impression on nearly everyone who encountered her. She always had a smile on her face, even throughout her fight against breast cancer. It was not uncommon in her last years of teaching to have parents show up for teacher conferences only to realize that their sons and daughters were being taught by the same Mrs. Brooks who stood before them in the classroom some fifteen years ago. She was always proud to have had the opportunity to teach to generations of the same family.       Mickey enjoyed her free time away from Lexington at the family beach home in North Myrtle Beach, where she could be closer to her daughter Cameron and baby grandson Cooper. Cooper’s presence around Mickey proved to be the feel-good medicine that no doctor can possibly prescribe.      The family would like to express their sincerest appreciation to Dr. Ken Peterson and his staff, Virgie and Frankie, and to Dr. Judith Hopkins and her entire oncology staff at Forsyth Oncology Center, Winston-Salem, NC, for the love and care provided Mickey during her times of illness -- it was a wonderful eight-year relationship. Thanks to family friend and personal physician, Dr. Victor Farrah, and his wife, Donna Azzolini, for their ongoing support and many favors provided over the past few years.    A very special thanks to Mickey’s close friends, Sheila Priddy, Frankie Hedrick, Dianne “Howdy” Howdeshell, Buddy and Rita Lohr, Kevin and Candace Cox, nieces Donna Azzolini and Lisa Myers, and sisters-in-law Regina Harris and Sheila Brooks. Thank you to the entire staff at North Davidson Middle School for your continued and ongoing support during Mickey’s illness. Mickey simply wanted to enhance the lives of each and every student and fellow teacher in some small way through her love of teaching.    Honoring Mickey’s personal request for donations, please send any donations in her name to one of the following local organizations: the Pastor’s Pantry, 307 N. State Street, Lexington, NC 27292; Crisis Ministries of Davidson County, 107 E. 1st Ave., Lexington, NC 27292; Hospice of Davidson County, 200 Hospice Way, Lexington, NC 27292.       Online condolences may be made at www.davidsonfuneralhome.net