Carol S. Brush Obituary
Carol S. Brush passed away peacefully on December 19, 2022 at the age of 80. She was a very special person who will be greatly missed by her family and by everyone who was fortunate enough to know her.
Carol was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 28, 1942 to David and Madeline Loftus, and she grew up in Detroit with her parents and her five siblings. She attended St. Francis de Sales High School and then Marygrove College, where she earned her bachelor's degree in history, political science, and education. After a short period of teaching elementary students in Detroit area schools, she spent a year as a Catholic Extension volunteer, teaching in the tiny unincorporated community of Kiln, Mississippi. This provided an early preview of the commitment to faith-based service that she would engage in throughout her adult life.
After her service in Mississippi, she enrolled in graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, pursuing a master's degree in education, and this is where, in the spring of 1968, she met and fell in love with her future husband, Brian, who fell even harder. Just a few months after they met, he departed for a teaching position at Marquette University in Milwaukee, while she stayed behind for one more semester to finish up the work on her master's degree. She followed Brian to Milwaukee in January 1969, they became engaged in February, and they were married at St. Francis de Sales Church in Detroit on June 28, 1969. They then returned to Milwaukee where Carol taught in Milwaukee Public Schools before the birth of the first of their three children, Brian. Daren and Anne Marie soon followed, and Carol spent the next two decades as a wonderful stay-at-home Mom, loving and nurturing her children as well as her husband, all the while doing volunteer work whenever possible. Family was certainly her most important priority, and this included her extended Loftus and Brush families, whom she loved dearly, who loved her dearly, and whose company she enjoyed immensely. As her children grew up, she moved back into the labor market in a variety of capacities, finally landing what she herself jokingly called her first "real job", serving as a full-time academic advisor to the pre-med and pre-dental students at Marquette University (no nepotism involved!).
Over the years, Carol became highly skilled in many ways, including cooking, baking, sewing, and quilting, and was always ready to learn new skills. Later in life, she became a master gardener and created and maintained beautiful flower gardens at home while volunteering in the ways expected with such a designation. Carol also was an avid reader of both fiction and serious works in spirituality and cosmology, and she belonged to a book club and a bridge group (she loved playing card games, but didn't particularly like losing). She also liked playing tennis, both with her husband and with her summer groups, and despite her petite stature (she claimed to be five feet tall), she was a pretty good player. But her most important physical exercise was going on long daily walks, usually with her husband, but always with her succession of beloved canine companions, Uno, Sadie, and Maude. Another favorite activity was attending Marquette basketball games with her husband, having season tickets for 50 years.
Carol also loved to travel, especially with her husband, and together they visited almost all of the 50 U.S. states as well as at least 14 foreign countries. She was always ready to jump in the car or on the plane to seek new adventures.
Carol's Catholic faith was very important to her, and it drove her especially in the direction of trying to promote social justice. She spent many hours preparing large pots and platters of food for the poor and homeless. Later in life, she formally committed to membership in the Ignatian Associates, a lay apostolic group grounded in Ignatian Spiritually and drawn to service to the poor and vulnerable in society. She was also a member of JustFaith, a group with similar aims. At Gesu Parish, her service activities were many. She was a Eucharistic minister who, in addition to serving at the Masses, took communion to the hospitalized and homebound. She was a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, making numerous home visits in service to the poor, and serving terms as president and treasurer of the parish group. She joined a small group of Gesu parishioners in making two mission trips to Haiti to provide support to the impoverished people there. And she participated in jail ministry, bringing faith, care, and counseling to the inmates at the Milwaukee County jail. She was truly a person for others, and her family really was everybody.
Carol is survived by her loving husband, Brian, her children Brian, Daren (Aparna), and Anne Marie (Lee) Morgan, and her grandchildren Ethan and Maya Brush. She is also survived by her siblings Tom (Marti) Loftus, Bob (Nancy) Loftus, Gayle McEachern, Patty (Larry) Mihalko, and Joe Loftus. She is further survived by her husband's brothers Martin (Sue), Warren (Verna), and Carl (Jan), and by many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, her granddaughter, Mariah Brush, her brother-in-law, Lee McEachern, and her sister-in-law, Kathy Loftus.
Over the past decade, Carol was afflicted by Primary Progressive Aphasia and Alzheimer's Disease, and her final earthly home was Azura Memory Care in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Through much of her time there she was still able to walk many miles, on her own, with her husband, and with caregivers, perhaps wearing out the carpets in the process. The family wants to thank the wonderful caregivers and staff at Azura for their compassionate care over the past 18 months, which helped Carol continue to give out big smiles and hugs right up to the end. The family also wants to thank special friends Joan Shrout, Syed and Jeannie Akhter, Mary D'Amico, and Anne Canino for their kindness and support.
Visitation will be on Friday, December 30, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. at Gesu Church, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. A private interment will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Carol's memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, the Casa Romero Renewal Center, or the Gesu Parish Haiti Fund.
Visitation Friday, December 30, 2022 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Gesu Church, 1145 W. Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53233 Phone: (414) 774-5010.
