Joe Edd Brooks

Joe Edd Brooks, 88, of Jonesboro passed from this life Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at his home. He was born to the late Richard and Lovis Brooks on July 21, 1932, in Caraway, Ark. Joe came to Jonesboro in 1950, with his bride, Ann Jimerson and they have been married for over 70 years. Joe was a long time member of First United Methodist Church. He was a 1949 graduate of Caraway High School. He then went on to graduate from Arkansas State College and then graduated from the University of Tennessee medical school with a Doctorate in Pharmacy and was the very first and the youngest ever Republican Appointee to the Arkansas State College Board of Trustees by Governor Winthrop Rockefeller. Joe was a practicing Pharmacist and owned several pharmacies in Northeast Arkansas over the years before beginning a successful medical supply business from 1975 until 2001 and he sold his last office in 2013. He was a United States Army Veteran and also spent six years in MLB after getting drafted by the Cleveland Indians. He was then traded to the St. Louis Browns and again to the Baltimore Orioles. Joe was also a huge Arkansas State Indians/Red Wolves sports fan, and an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan. Most of all Joe loved his family, especially his grandchildren. In addition to his parents, Joe is preceded in death by his brothers, Waymon Brooks and Jerry Brooks; grandson, Joseph Brooks; and his brother in law, Floyd Johnson. He is survived by his wife, Ann Brooks, of the home; sons, Mike (Nancy) Brooks of Fayetteville and Greg Brooks of Jonesboro; daughter, Marcie (William) Cheatham of Jonesboro; sister, Mary Jane Johnson of Mississippi; four grandchildren, Brooks Cheatham of Jonesboro, Jack Cheatham of Jonesboro, Andrew Brooks of Fayetteville, and Beth (Keith) Dickinson of Fayetteville; and four great-grandchildren. For lasting memorials, the family asks to consider donations to First United Methodist Church, Jonesboro. All services will be private. Online registry: www.emersonfuneralhome.com.