Mildred Lorraine Brooks St. Clair

Mildred Lorraine Brooks St. Clair has passed from her earthly life on Aug, 13, 2011 at the age of 93 yrs & 8 months. She was born on Dec. 26, 1917 in East St. Louis, Illinois and was the firstborn child of the late Barney Brooks, Sr. & Mabel Stephens Brooks. She and her husband, Charles, lived in East St. Louis & Fairview Heights, Illinois until they moved to Point Comfort/Port Lavaca, Texas as an Alcoa transferee in 1961 – the move being delayed a few months thanks to the uninvited arrival of Hurricane Carla.

She married her husband, Charles W.B. St. Clair, in 1937 and they were married for 43 years before his death in 1980. Also predeceasing her are a stillborn son; her sisters and brothers-in-law, Mary & Fred Houze (Belleville, IL), Helen & Tom Oswein (Covina, CA); her sister, Dorothy Burton (Granite City, IL) and her only brother, Barney Brooks, Jr. (Salt Lake City, UT).

She is survived by her daughters, Joyce Taff (Tom) of Longmont, CO; Lynda Dierlam Briggs (Charlie) of Houston, TX; and Peggy Record (Jim) of Victoria, TX and her only son, Charles W.B. St. Clair III of Port Lavaca. Also surviving her are her grandchildren, Debbie Taff Wardal (Steve) of Longmont, CO; Sheila Taff Pietroburgo (Jim) of Belleville, IL; Elizabeth Dierlam Gonzales of Corpus Christi, TX; Christopher Dierlam of San Antonio, TX; Melissa St. Clair Fenoglio (Cody) of Temple, TX; Charles W.B. St. Clair IV of Temple, TX; Jason St. Clair (Alysha) of Port Lavaca, TX; and James Record III of Austin, TX. She is also survived by 18 great-grandchildren. Also surviving are her sister and brother-in-law, Edna & Gene LaBrier of Chesterfield, MO and her brother-in-law, Randy Burton of St. Louis, MO & Salem, OR. She is also survived by 2 very special caregivers, Rosemary Calzada and Wanda Skrovan to whom much love and thanks are given.

She was the first employee hired at the original Edgemont Bank (now Regions Bank & Trust) in Edgemont, Illinois. After moving south to Port Lavaca, Texas, she went to work at the current Memorial Medical Center in 1963 and worked there for 27 years until her retirement in 1991. Upon her retirement as a paid employee, she became a hospital volunteer, earning more than 4000 volunteer hours. She was also a life member of Port Lavaca Chapter 373 Order of the Eastern Star having served the Eastern Star both in Illinois and Texas. She held many, many offices over the years including Worthy Matron and Recording Secretary – a post she held for 30 years. She served proudly on the Board of Directors of Cal-Com Federal Credit Union from its inception until 2007 holding the position of secretary for many of those years.

The family will receive visitors from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at Richardson-Colonial Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 2:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Family burial will take place at Lake View Memorial Gardens in Fairview Heights, Illinois on Saturday, August 20 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of South Texas; First Baptist Church of Port Lavaca; Port Lavaca Chapter 373 Order of Eastern Star; Memorial Medical Center Volunteers; or the charity of your choice.

You our invited to visit www.richardsoncolonialfuneralhome.com to leave an audio or guest book message in memory of Mrs. St. Clair.