Jack Pierce Brook

A memorial service celebrating the life of Jack will be held Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, at 11 a.m. at St. John's United Methodist Church. Officiating will be the Rev. Tim Lawson and the Rev. Russ Clunan. A brief visitation will be held prior to the service at the church from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Honoring Jack by serving as pallbearers will be his grandsons, Robert Lantier, Adam Lantier, Jack Campbell, Stephen Loewer and John Michael Loewer; as well as family friends Tim Walker and Dan Diefenderfer. Serving as honorary pallbearers are Jack's granddaughters, Shawn Lantier, Sara DiCarlo, Lindsay Campbell, Elise Loewer, Suzanne Zelenka and Sophia Mazzetti. Jack was born Dec. 2, 1934, in Cameron, Texas, and preceded in death by his mother, Inez Sneed Marceau, and father, Glidewell Herd Brook. He died Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, after a lengthy illness. He is survived by his wife and best friend of 55 years, Mary Jo Leonard Brook; and five daughters, Rene Brook Hoffpauir, Kristi Brook, Nyda Brook, Jody Brook Galey and Mary Ellen Brook; sons-in-law include Wayne Hoffpauir, William Smith and Steve Galey. He will be missed by his 11 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Jack was also preceded in death by his son Frederick Victor Brook and granddaughter Hannah Katherine Loewer. After graduating from Centenary College, Jack enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served in the 1st Armored Division as a tank commander. Following military service, Jack graduated from LSU Law School, where he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review, Order of the Coif, and served as president of the Law School. Jack entered private practice in 1960 with Vinson Elkins in Houston and retired from the law firm of Brook and Van Loon in 2001. During the course of his career, he built and served as managing partner of multiple large law firms operating in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. His proudest legal accomplishment was representing officials in Plaquemines Parish to recover lost oil and gas interests. He enjoyed his years of service to the Leukemia Society of America, where he was president of the Louisiana Chapter, and chairman of their "televent" fundraising efforts. He was a member of the board of directors of Easter Seals, and a member of the LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation. He was a member of the Louisiana and Texas bar associations, and was appointed to the Court Rules Committee for the Supreme Court of the state of Louisiana from 1997-2002. Jack published numerous articles in both scholarly and trade journals in the area of oil and gas law. Aside from his wife's cooking, Jack was most passionate about the LSU Tigers. The fall of each year brought with it the humming of the fight song and endless speculation about how this year would be the one that brought LSU one more national championship in football. With this often came play-by-play descriptions, drawings, and storytelling of Billy Cannon's famous run. In fact, one of his last requests was for family members to tell him once again about the score in Saturday's 23-9 victory over Vanderbilt. Memorial contributions honoring Jack's life can be made either to the Frederick Victor Brook Scholarship Fund at Centenary College P.O. Box 41188, Shreveport, LA 71134-1188 or St John's United Methodist Church, 9375 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808. The family wishes to thank Drs. Gomes, McGrath, Khuri and Lodhavia, and the staff in the ICUs and the second floor of Ochsner Medical Center at O'Neil Lane; as well as the nurses with Pinnacle Home Health Services, for their loving care and comforting attention.