Gary W. (Wilkins) Brooks

Gary Wilkins Brooks, age 83, died at her daughter’s home in Northampton after a diagnosis of late-stage cancer. Gary lived a life of adventure worthy of a great novel, or several. The eldest child of two dashing beltway lawyers, Anne and Don Wilkins, Gary grew up in Falls Church, Virginia. She had hoped to attend law school like her parents but struggled with dyslexia. By her own admission she married her way out of college and into the U.S. Air Force, accepting the hand of Michael Claflin Brooks, a young VMI graduate and civil engineer. Together they raised three children and relocated twelve times in places as diverse as Topeka, Kansas; Ottawa, Canada; and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, before retiring first to Appomattox, Virginia, and then to Vienna, Virginia.
Once settled back in Fairfax County, Gary threw herself into her own career and interests. A lifelong Democrat, she worked on numerous state and national political campaigns including the presidential campaign of Gary Hart. She was also an early supporter of Virginia Governor Doug Wilder. Subsequent to his election, she was appointed transportation liaison to Capitol Hill where she contributed to the passage of the Intersurface Modal Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991. Gary and Mike retired for the third time to Rappahanock, Virginia. Following the death of her second child, Joseph Gary Brooks, and her own parents, they retired for the fourth time to Tenants Harbor, Maine.
In her late 60s, Gary divorced her husband of 42 years and set out to experience life on her own terms. She relocated to James Island, South Carolina, took up shooting, boating and flying, and fell madly in love with Drew Hatch, a retired navigator from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The inexhaustible pair flew cross-country several times in their vintage two person Cessna, camping on grass landing strips and embracing life and love completely. They took up residence in Colville, Washington and became active members of the Recreational Aviation Foundation. After Drew’s unexpected death in 2017, Gary relocated to Easthampton, Massachusetts to live near her daughter. She continued to be an aviation enthusiast but kept her feet firmly planted on the ground dedicating her energies to gardening, political scorekeeping, and service on the board of directors of her condo association.
Gary is survived by her eldest son, William and his children, Delaney, Macie and Miles of Chantilly, Virginia; her daughter Dorrie, daughter-in-law Helen and their children, Harper and Joe of Northampton, Massachusetts; and her daughter-in-law Julie Chatelain of Folly Beach, South Carolina.
Our family welcomes friends and neighbors to join us for a brief celebration of her life, 11:00am, Sunday, March 26 at The Hamptons, 359 Main Street, Unit 24A, Easthampton.
We are grateful for the compassionate care provided to Gary in her last days by the good people at Cooley Dickinson Hospital and Cooley-Dickinson VNA/Hospice. We also treasure the circle of love that surrounded us at 188 Federal through these days and nights.
There will be a Graveside Service held on Saturday, June 24, 2023 in National Memorial Park located at 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA 22042.
Contributions in her memory may be sent in her name to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL, 36104.