Courtesy legacy.com
Jan Brooks, smart, funny, talented and complex, died of lung cancer on September 12. Her multitude of friends will savor her memory and miss her generous spirit, sharp wit, big laugh, curiosity and energy.
Born in Quanah, Texas, Jan grew up in Denton, Texas, where her family ran Brooks Dairy. Beginning in 1968, with an interest in music and then metalwork, Brooks attended several colleges and universities. Studying blacksmithing, Brooks earned a BA in 1972 and an MFA in 1974.
From 1974 to 1977, Brooks taught metalsmithing at SIU Carbondale before moving to North Carolina, where she worked as an assistant professor of Creative Arts and gallery director at UNC Charlotte. Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, Jan exhibited her work in more than 200 shows, including the 1982 exhibition “Towards a New Iron Age” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Her work is in both public and private collections. Brooks focused on commissions and public art projects and became involved in the nonprofit sector. She served on many boards, panels, and juries. She was vice president of the American Craft Council in the late 1980s and received an NEA grant in 1990. In the early 1990s, she did graduate work at Duke University, researching the post-World War III development of the studio craft movement in American universities.
In 1995, Brooks moved to Santa Fe, N.M., and married longtime friend Lane Coulter in 2000. The couple ran Coulter Brooks Art & Antiques, specializing in Southwestern arts. She also worked in organized philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, serving as executive director of Northern NM Grantmakers for six years. She had far-ranging interests and was passionate and active about local and national politics and public policy.
She was a dedicated guitar player with a soulful, disarming voice. She loved music, food, art, and animals and was partial to Scottish Terriers.
She is survived by her husband, Lane Coulter; his daughter, Amelia; grandson, Felix; her brother, Rob Brooks; his wife, Mary; Rob’s children, Dean, Joanna and Matt; and their families.
A memorial will be held on October 15 at 2 PM at the Meem Auditorium on Museum Hill. Address cards to Lane Coulter, The Montecito, 450 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, N.M., 87505. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the New Mexico School for the Arts, New Energy Economy, or Street Homeless Animal Project.
