Nancy Anne (Brooks) Titus

Our beloved Mom, Grandma: Nancy Anne Brooks Titus passed away peacefully in her home on the morning of Thursday, April 25, 2019. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for many years; now she flies high, free at last from her earthly confusion and fears.

Nancy was born to her adoring parents, Garnet Helen Sexton and Thomas Homer Brooks, in Nashville, Tennessee, on Dec. 15, 1926. As an only child she was bubbly and social, and throughout her life always gathering together friends and family. At age nine, her family moved to Dallas where she graduated from Highland Park High School in 1944, and then from SMU in 1948 with a sociology major. While at SMU, “Brooksie” served as president of her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and modeled for Neiman-Marcus.

At a college party, Nancy met her lifetime partner, Jack Titus, in her brown broad-brimmed hat. After courting for a year, they married on March 27, 1948. Together for 63 years, Nancy and Jack had three children - Tom, Sally and Betsy. They were members of University Park United Methodist Church for over 60 years.

Nancy’s engaging nature filled the lives of her children - she served as Cub Scouts den mother, leader of the Camp Fire Girls troupe and PTA president at Hyer School. She crafted hats and knit sweaters, meeting frequently with her Sewing Club girlfriends for 65 years. She taught us to drive stick-shift, towed us on sleds through snowy streets behind her powder-blue Lincoln Continental and rode the scary Wild Mouse ride with us at the State Fair.

Bestowed with grace and athletic talent, Nancy loved playing tennis and golf at Northwood Club and water-skiing with style on Lake Tawakoni. As the kids left home, Nancy and Jack discovered Colorado, where they escaped the Texas heat every summer. Nancy found passions for backpacking with grandkids, skiing, rafting and fishing.

It took Jack’s illness and Nancy’s dementia to slow the adventures down. She entered a cruel mental decline for more than a decade, that transformed her spunky personality into disorientation and distress. We reach back to remember the essence of Nancy, as she was in health.

We are forever grateful to our sister Sally and the many patient caregivers who helped her through the last years. Nancy is predeceased by her parents and husband, Jack Austin Titus. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Tom and Jane Titus of Mason, TX, and Boulder, CO; daughter and son-in-law Sally and Gary Dobbie of Dallas; daughter Betsy Titus Wessler of Ashland, OR, and Taos, NM; grandchildren Jeremy (Julie), Justin (Mary Chris) and Eric (Kate) Dobbie, Rebecca Titus Smith (Jeromy), Travis Titus (Victoria), and Leah Wessler, great-grandchildren Jack, Woody, Hank, Charlie and Brennan Dobbie, Dylan and Layla Smith, and Stella and Austin Titus.

Donations may be made to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Dallas Symphony Orchestra or the charity of your choice.

Celebration of Life service to be held at 2:00 on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at University Park United Methodist Church, 4024 Caruth Blvd. @ Preston Rd., Dallas, TX 75225.