By K.D. Norris
The Michigan Veteran Homes (MVH), which has a local facility previously called the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, held a ceremony Monday, July 6, to memorialize Sarah Brooks, who had many connections to Grandville and the local area, in the new memorial garden at the Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids (MVHGR).
The Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids facility is located at 2950 Monroe Avenue, NE, Grand Rapids.
The dedication of the new memorial garden included a private ceremony to honor Brooks, who was the Department of Michigan American Legion Auxiliary Hospital Representative at the facility.
Brooks, according to supplied material, volunteered since 1958, having logged over 60,000 hours of service which is the equivalent of working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, without a single day off for nearly 29 years.
The wife of Army veteran John R. Brooks Sr. and mother to Navy veteran Sandra Jennings, Brooks passed away this last Veterans Day.
Brooks was been a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Crispus Attucks Unit #59 for 75 years, having held many offices in the local, state, district and national auxiliary, according to her 2020 obituary. She volunteered for Grandville Senior Neighbors, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Mary Free Bed Hospital, Kent Community Hospital since 1990 and was Past Chapau of 8 et 40 La Boutique, an organization that supports children with respiratory diseases. She was one of the people who founded the Unknown Black Soldier at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek.
Remarks at the ceremony were led by Tracey Nelson, administrator of MVHGR; Bruce Kalish, chaplain of MVHGR; Betty Rhodes-Machen, secretary of the American Legion Auxiliary Crispus Attucks Unit #59; and Robert Troost, resident member and past president of the member’s council at MVHGR.
The ceremony included the revealing of a silver-plated memorial plaque, installed at the base of a sugar gum tree donated by Twin Lakes Nursery of Grand Rapids, and bench seating for members to enjoy the outdoor space.
