Maureen Westbrook Funeral Service Folder Outside   

   Maureen Westbrook Funeral Service Folder Inside   

  Maureen Lynette Westbrook was born June 22, 1923, to Emma and Alfred Christensen in Argo Township, Brookings County, South Dakota.  She died August 1, 2019, at the Brookings Hospital.  

  A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, August 5, 2019, at Eidsness Funeral Home, 1617 Orchard Drive, Brookings, South Dakota, with visitation at 1 p.m.  Interment for Maureen and Thornton Westbrook at Greenwood Cemetery will follow the service.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Brookings Public Library Outreach Program, 515 3rd Street, Brookings, SD; or the N. E. Hansen Garden, McCrory Gardens, 631 22nd Avenue, Brookings, SD.  

  After graduation from White High School in 1940, Maureen attended Stuart School of Hairstyling in Sioux Falls and, subsequently, worked at Bea's Beauty Shop and the American Red Cross in Watertown. Following a course in accounting, she worked at International Harvester also in Watertown.  While there she met and fell in love with Lt. Thornton W. Westbrook from Memphis, Tennessee.  They were married on January 4, 1945, in Watertown.  After World War II, Thornton and Maureen made their permanent home in Brookings.  

  Maureen was 70-year member of the First Methodist Church in Brookings, was active in a local Extension Club, and worked at the polls on Election Day for many years.  Maureen loved to sing and especially enjoyed performing with the Peace Pipers, a quartet affiliated with the Dakota Sues chapter of Sweet Adelines.  She played the piano from the age of five and often entertained family and friends with her repertoire of forties pop songs. She also loved golf and belonged to the Brookings Country Club for many decades.  Maureen was in several bridge clubs throughout her life and she and Thornton were active members of the Brookings duplicate bridge club.  Maureen was a lifetime member of the American Contract Bridge League and served a term as secretary/treasurer of the South Dakota ACBL.  

  Maureen was well-known as a fabulous homemaker. Her enthusiasm for cooking and baking was much appreciated by family, friends, and local groups to which she often donated baked goods.  She loved to sew and made many of her own and her children's special occasion outfits and also competed in the South Dakota Make-it-Yourself with Wool contest. In addition, Maureen had a green thumb and loved her flower gardens. After her children were grown, she began selling Mary Kay cosmetics and was a successful consultant for 25 years.  

  Upon retirement, she and Thornton traveled the United States extensively and spent their winters on the gulf in Florida. In later life, she took up quilting, joined the Red Hat Society, especially enjoyed the First Class Club group outings arranged by First Bank and Trust, and was an avid reader.  

  Maureen loved her family and her life-long friends and also loved sharing pictures and news of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed an active social life and was always looking for opportunities to meet new friends, including the residents and staff at Edgewood Vista.  

  Maureen is survived by four children, Anne of Brookings, Mary of Coralville, Iowa, Nancy (David Ayers) of River Falls, Wisconsin, and James (Susie) of Destin, Florida; three grandchildren, Emily (Brandon Willcox) of St. Paul, Minnesota, Julie (Nick Johnson) of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Eric Westbrook of Destin, Florida; three great-grandchildren; and special first cousins Bonnie Bursing of Sioux Falls and Roger (Sheryl) Hendricks of Rapid City. She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents.