Why We’re Here: Ashley “Brooke” Jones

When Anne Tuck was pregnant with her daughter, she would go to a nearby brook of water, rub her belly, and sing to her unborn child. “She would always calm down there,” Anne says. It’s why she named her “Brooke.”

After Ashley Brooke was born, singing was something they continued to share. She and her mom sang gospel music together and Brooke was very involved with her church. Brooke and her mom were very close – an unbreakable bond – Anne calls it.

Brooke carried that same deep love to her own children. She loved to four wheel, swim, volleyball, anything outdoors or involving time on the family farm. But most of all, she loved doing all of it with her kids because she got to spend time with them. She called her oldest, Lindsay, “Pooh Bear.” Her middle child, Collin, was “Mommy’s little man.” And the youngest, Sara, was “my monkey.”

On January 9, 2015, Brooke let the kids spend the night at Grandma’s. They had a wonderful time with lots of fun and a cozy winter bonfire. Anne had already tucked them into bed, when her daugher, Rachel, called. Rachel’s husband had seen, what appeared to be, Brooke’s truck involved in a crash. Brooke was very close to Rachel and their brother, Joshua. Worried that Brooke might have really been in the wreck, Rachel decided to go the scene. Realizing it WAS her sister’s truck, she went to the hospital. Anne says Rachel called her from the hospital to tell her the devestating news that 28-year-old Brooke was gone! Anne says she didn’t believe it was true. She collapsed at the shock.

Later, they would find out that Brooke had been on her way to work when a drunk driver with a .188 BAC and drugs in his possession had exited the interstate on the wrong side of the road and hit her head on.

Anne says their lives were turned completely upside down. She now has custody of Brooke’s three children: Sara who is now 9, Collin who is now 11, and Lindsay who is now 12. They had to build a new home to make room for the children.

“I miss her laughter so much. She would laugh at anything,” Anne says. “And I miss singing with her.”

Brooke had a heart of gold. She would help anyone. And she loved making people smile. It was probably why she loved her job at Starbucks so much. But she had always wanted to be a veterinarian. Now, becoming a veterinarian is her daughter, Lindsay’s goal. Anne says, “Lindsay has a deep love for animals, just like her mom.”

When asked what she wanted to say in memory of her daughter, Anne told us, “I want Brooke to be remembered for her laughter, her unbreakable bond with her mom, and her deep love for her children.”