Obituary of Lori S. Brooks

Lori S. Brooks, age 73 of Coralville died Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at the Naples Community Hospital in Naples, Florida. Memorial services will be held at 11am on Saturday, February 11, 2023, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service, where visitation will take place on Friday from 4 to 7 pm. To share a thought, memory or condolence please visit Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation website @ www.gayandciha.com. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in Lori’s memory. Lori Storm Brooks was born October 18, 1949, in Iowa City to Harold and Jean (Cheyne) Storm. Lori attended Lone Tree Community School. Following graduation in 1967 she attended beauty school and was a licensed cosmetologist owning her own salon Guys and Dolls in New London. Later in life she took a career change and became a paramedic working for the Johnson County Ambulance Service beginning in 1987. Through this career she met the love of her life, Harry Brooks. They married on October 11, 2003. She retired November 11, 2011. She was a dedicated EMS instructor and continued teaching CPR and first aid after her retirement. Lori was a gifted musician and music was a big part of her life including teaching piano lessons as a teenager. Lori’s generous spirit led her to share her life not only with her daughters but also with their friends and others that needed a strong female advocate. There was always a place at her table for anyone and always had something good to eat as she not only loved to cook, she was simply an excellent cook!. She was a lover of all animals but especially her dogs, Kiki and Cattie and her special friend Martini. Lori was a lifelong Hawkeye fan and enjoyed gathering with friends to watch the games. She traveled to Germany several times and enjoyed visiting her friend Katja and her family. She was excited to research her heritage while there. For several years Lori and Harry spent their winters in Florida and made many friends. She loved entertaining but in her later years just visiting with her friends was a treat. As she became ill, her friends would come and often brought food to the home. These were such meaningful friendships when she was unable to be as active as she would have liked. Lori is survived by her husband, Harry Brooks; her daughters, Nicci Butler (John), Jessica Meade (Brandon), Tonya Smith (Gerry) and Amber Mattheis (Josh). She leaves behind grandchildren, Teagan, Jack and Griffin Butler; Cash and Shane Jensen; Mykala, Gavin (Sammy), Tavian (Jaianna) and Taleah (Brady) Smith. She had great grandchildren Cashius, Ava, Kai and Tavian Jr. She is also survived by her sister, Lana (Dale) Schaefer and their children Dan (Kandee) Schaefer, Mindi (Kenny) Rodriquez and Matt (Jen) Schaefer and many great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and mother in law, Rita Brooks.