Carolyn Brooks

Carolyn Brooks died from cancer on February 10, 2023, in Austin, Texas. She was 76. Carolyn was born in Schenectady, New York, on May 18, 1946, to Travis and Amelia Brooks (nee Harlan), two graduates from the University of Texas at Austin. Shortly thereafter the family returned to their native Texas (Beaumont) where Carolyn was raised. After graduating Beaumont High, Carolyn followed her parents to Austin. She graduated UT in or around 1970 (she took her time) with bachelor’s degrees in interior design and art history. Shortly after Carolyn entered UT, her mother Amelia succumbed to cancer. A few years later, Carolyn’s father Travis remarried to Helen Landrum who lived a few blocks away. Helen’s children Mary, Jane and John were Carolyn’s schoolmates, who Carolyn had known for years. Now they were a family. After working for several years in interior design in Houston, Carolyn pawned her grandmother’s diamond ring and entered Yale Architecture School. She graduated Yale in 1982 with a master’s in architecture. Carolyn worked in commercial interior design at several prominent interior design firms, mainly in New York City, specializing in designing and executing large, sophisticated office projects for banks, law firms and corporations throughout the United States. She loved her work as an interior designer. It allowed her to express herself creatively while requiring analytical rigor. She enjoyed helping clients achieve their visions, although sometimes dealing with investment bankers and lawyers could be…. challenging. Nevertheless, Carolyn married Allen Rothman, an attorney, in 1988. In 1995, Carolyn and Allen adopted their daughter Sophia Haishi Brooks Rothman from Maanshan, China. For 27 years, the family lived in Park Slope Brooklyn, in a home which Carolyn redesigned following a fatal fire. Re-imagining “Fudgeworth” was Carolyn’s favorite project, integrating color and modernity into a 1903 Flemish row house. It was also Allen’s until Carolyn presented the budget-to-actuals at the end of the job. In 2019, Carolyn and Allen returned to Austin, Texas. Throughout their years together, Allen, Carolyn and Sophia enjoyed the culture in New York City and the outdoors in Telluride, Colorado. In her later years, Carolyn and Allen experienced the charm and excitement of surging ATX. Carolyn was an avid fan of the Rolling Stones. Carolyn and Allen listened to the entire Sticky Fingers Album in her car on their second date. They saw the Stones seven times including their last show at Circuit of the Americas in November 2021 which Carolyn loved. Carolyn also loved her Texas musicians, especially Janis (from nearby Port Arthur she’d always point out), Rodney Crowell and Townes Van Zandt. Someone gave her one of Townes’s guitars in the 70s. Carolyn was thrilled when Sophia learned to play it. Carolyn’s Mom, Amelia, was best friends with Edwina Winter, Edgar and Johnny’s mom. Edgar was Carolyn’s classmate. Carolyn reminisced with both backstage when they played in NYC. But her friends and family know that the printed word does not do justice to Carolyn. You had to see her live. She had a huge personality and lived life with tremendous verve. She loved her family and friends. Carolyn was smart, witty and tough. She had no time for nonsense or pretension. She cared little about convention. In Texas she was a Longhorn Legend. A “badass” in other jurisdictions. She dealt with Parkinson’s disease for 17 years and several extremely serious health issues in her last year, any one of which could have been fatal. But Carolyn kept battling until the end, looking to squeeze every ounce out of life. She is survived by her husband Allen, her daughter Sophia, her stepsister Jane Hendricks and her family, her stepbrother John Landrum and his family, her brother-in-law Paul Rothman, her sister-in-law Frances Meyer, her niece Alissa Rothman, her nephews Daniel and Eric Rothman, her cousin Liz Girolamo and her beloved cat Murphy. Rather than flowers or food, the family suggests folks can honor Carolyn by making a donation to the Michael J Fox Foundation which is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s.

Carolyn Brooks

May 18, 1946 - February 10, 2023