Donna Smith Brookman, born February 17, 1938, passed peacefully on January 18, 2023 at the age of 84. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James “Jim” S. Brookman, Jr. and survived by sons James S. “Jake” Brookman, III (Jayney Brookman) and Charles “Doc” Brookman (Amy Pennington).

Donna was born in Johnstown, New York and was raised there by her paternal grandparents. She graduated from Johnstown High School and SUNY and also went on to take many post graduate classes. After a trip to Bermuda, she and Jim married in 1962 and settled in Rochester, New York. In 1965, they moved to St. Louis, Missouri where she was employed by Washington University’s Olin Library.

In 1969, they got their first Scottish Deerhound, Jamie, and started the kennel name of Moray. Jamie and Drambuie sired Bitchwitch in 1972, and Donna and Jim continued to breed and show champion deerhounds for many years to come. Donna was a lifelong member of the Scottish Deerhound Club of America.

Donna’s true passion was for teaching and learning. She taught Latin, creative writing, and computers for the Parkway School District, retiring from Parkway South High School in 2011. As a teacher, it was her personal connections with students that meant the most to her. She received the Pillar of Parkway award and was a three-time National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship grant recipient to study Ancient Greek at Tufts University.

Donna was a lover of the arts and was a member of the Saint Louis Symphony Volunteer Association. She was an avid supporter of the Saint Louis Youth Symphony Orchestra from the time both of her sons were members.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 18th, 2:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (110 N Warson Rd, Ladue, MO 63124), where she was a member. A reception will follow.

Memorial donations in her name can be made to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (https://www.slso.org), The Scottish Deerhound Club of America (https://deerhound.org/), or St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (http://specstl.org).