Arthur Dean Brook

Arthur Dean Brook slipped the surly bonds of earth and rejoined his sweetheart, Jane Speir Brook, on March 17, 2026. He was born on May 3, 1932, to Joe Henry and Angela Ellen Sophia Denney Brook at their home on Princess Avenue in southwest Atlanta, where he joined his half-siblings, Frances, Estelle, and Ralph.

Arthur met “Sweet Jane” in Mrs. Tinsley’s 4th grade class at Sylvan Hills Elementary School. They dated throughout high school and spent many happy times with her extended family in Blount, Georgia.

A product of the Atlanta public school system, he attended Georgia Tech for two years before enlisting in the United States Army.

On a three-day leave from Fort Jackson, Arthur and Jane married at Sylvan Hills Baptist Church on December 20, 1952, and they began their married life in Columbia, South Carolina.

Upon discharge in 1954, Jane and Arthur returned to Atlanta, and Arthur returned to Georgia Tech where he was inducted into Pi Tau Sigma, an international honor society for mechanical engineers. After graduating from Tech in 1956, he began his engineering career at Carrier Corporation in a windowless building across from Piedmont Hospital that he referred to as “The Tomb of the Unknown Engineer.” Taking classes at night after work, he earned a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State College (now University) in 1961.

In addition to his military service during the Korean conflict, Arthur served the nation during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 when the Army contracted with Carrier to harden missile silos against attack by the Soviet Union from Cuba.

Following the births of Steve, Debra, Dean, and Laurie, Jane and Arthur moved to Macon, where they were joined by the family’s ultimate member, Freeman.

In Macon, Arthur worked as a consulting engineer in the firm that was ultimately known as Nottingham, Brook, and Pennington (“NBP”). Arthur was licensed to practice engineering in Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Arthur was appointed by the governor to serve on the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board from 1978 to 1987 and was named the Georgia Engineer of the Year in Private Practice by the Atlanta Chapter of ASHRAE in 1984. Arthur was honored that NBP was chosen as the engineering firm for the Carter Presidential Library, which opened to 1986. In 1989, NBP was presented the Grand Award for Engineering Excellence by the Consulting Engineers Council of Georgia for the Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens. In 1994, the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers named the Day Butterfly Center as one of the top ten engineering achievements in Georgia for the years 1944 to 1994. Also in 1994, Arthur was inducted into the Georgia Tech Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni. Arthur served on the Georgia Tech College of Engineering Advisory Board from 1994 to 2001.

Arthur coached Little League baseball for eight years and served as an adult leader for Boy Scout Troop 5 for 17 years. He was a member of the Furman University Parents’ Council, the Medical Center of Central Georgia Ethics Committee, the Macon Kiwanis Club, and the Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission. He served as the President of the Macon Waves Swim Team and the Macon Area Council on Neighborhoods.

Arthur and Jane’s travels included trips to England, New Zealand, Australia, Egypt, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, South Africa, Ecuador, Peru, the Galapagos, Spain, Scotland, France, and Italy. Jane and Arthur learned to snow ski in their 50s and annually visited Big Sky, Montana with their family from 1985 until 2016.

In 1998, Jane and Arthur finished building their mountain retreat “New Blount” on Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia, fulfilling a vision to create a place where family could come together, just as they had done in Blount, Georgia. They spent considerable time on the lake and in the garden with their children and grandchildren until Jane’s passing in 2021.

Arthur joined Ingleside Baptist Church in 1964. Over the ensuing years, he served as a member and chair of the Board of Deacons, a member of the finance committee, a Sunday School teacher, and the Baptist Training Union director.

Arthur was a prodigious reader and writer. Believing the pen to be mightier than the sword, he was one of the Macon Telegraph's most prolific writers of letters to the editor and authored thousands of “Thought of the Day” emails which he sent to family and friends. In 2008, he published the first of fifteen family books, Blount, Glory Land.

Arthur moved to The Spires at Berry College in Rome, Georgia in mid-2021, where he lived a full life with the daily assistance of his daughter, Laurie, and son-in-law, Jimmy, who took him to countless medical and physical therapy appointments, helped him recover from several surgeries, and, toward the end of his life, maintained a round-the-clock schedule of sitters.

Arthur and Laurie took many Berry Senior Scholars courses on history, religion, and writing. They took field trips to area attractions such as: the Savoy Auto Museum and New Echota Indian Mounds in Cartersville; the Martha Berry Museum; Possum Trot; House of Dreams; the Rome History Museum; Amber Grace; the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail; the Rome Air Show; Lake Weiss; and Inland Container. Laurie and Jimmy made it possible for Arthur to attend graduations, performances, weddings, and funerals throughout the southeast during these years.

Arthur’s faith journey continued while he lived in Rome. He attended First Baptist Church with the Douglas family and enjoyed Easter egg hunts and Trunk of Treat at a friend’s church. On several occasions, Laurie took him to Macon to be with fellow senior members of Ingleside Baptist Church.

On Thursday afternoons, Arthur worked with Jimmy in his workshop on carving projects such as walking sticks and necklaces. With the assistance of Laurie, he authored and distributed 14 family related books during his time in Rome.

Building on his decades’ long experience as a Sunday School teacher, Arthur established An Hour with Art in which he shared stories with fellow residents during 2022 and 2023.

Arthur is preceded in death by: his wife, Jane; his son, Dean; his parents; and his half-siblings. He is survived by his: son, Steve Brook (Nina); daughter, Debra Brook (Mike Kemp); daughter-in-law, Joanna Buffington; daughter, Laurie Douglas (Jimmy); and son, Freeman Brook. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Christopher Brook (Moira Downey); Matthew Brook (Lydia); Ben Brook; Anderson Kemp (Natalie Luti); Samuel Douglas (Remi); Joseph Brook (Laura); Graham Kemp (Kyler Rose); James Douglas; William Douglas; Robert Brook (Ellie Pobis); and Dean Brook. Finally, he is survived by his great-grandchildren, Sophia, Elias, Isabelle, and Jack Brook.

A service will be held at Paran Baptist Church on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 1 PM with interment in the Paran Cemetery immediately thereafter with Dr. Mark Hudgins officiating. Arthur’s grandchildren will serve as pallbearers. In lieu of flowers the family suggests that memorial gifts be made to the Paran Cemetery Foundation, 5423 Georgia Highway 42 N, Forsyth, GA 31029, the Middle Georgia Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Rescue Mission, or the charity of the donor’s choice.

Snow's Memorial Chapel, Bass Road has charge of the arrangements.