CANAAN, NH — Kate Brooks, of Canaan, NH died December 7th of complications due to dementia. She was 69. Kate was born in Boston on October 25, 1951 andraised in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Her father, Paul Brooks was editor-in-chief at Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company for many years. Her mother, Susan Moller Brooks was a homemaker who was active in town politics. Kate was the youngest of five children. Following the example of her parents she, as well as her two older sisters, spent much of her youth outdoors and grew up to be an ardent conservationist. At age 12, she joined her family on a trip through Kenya and Tanzania as part of a writing assignment her father had with World Book Encyclopedia. After graduating Concord Academy in 1969, she took a road trip across the United States with just her dog. Kate spent the next year in London as an au pair before deciding to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz. After graduating college with a degree in biology, she joined an expedition to Nepal collecting birdsongs for Cornell and later was part of a field program studying cliff-dwelling puffins from a boat off the coast of Alaska.
At UC Santa Cruz, she met her future husband Jim and for most of the next forty years they would spend a portion of almost every summer hiking in the Sierras as well as the Olympics, Tetons or the Canadian Rockies. She earned a masters degree in landscape architecture at the University of Virginia just before marrying Jim in 1981. For a few years she worked for a local landscape architecture firm and later took on residential jobs including design work at the Hay Estate in Newbury NH. She spent two decades on the Canaan Conservation Commission, as well as many years on the board of Mascoma Home Health.
Once married, Kate and her husband had the good fortune to settle in Canaan among a wonderful community of young people who all enjoyed the outdoors and had young kids of their own. These families became an integral part of the lives of their own children and the source of lifelong friendships for all involved. In addition to two children, Kate and Jim raised three dogs, six chickens and two donkeys at home in Canaan.
To her friends and family, Kate was known for her warmth, saucy wit and cheerfulness. She sensed the needs of others without having to be asked and helped those around her with understanding and generosity.
She is survived by her husband, Jim Laffan, and two children, Margaret Laffan, currently residing in Oakland, CA, and Nate Laffan, currently residing in New Orleans, LA. Due to Covid-19, there will be no service at this time. The family is asking that in honor of Kate, donations be made to the Canaan Conservation Commission. Checks can be mailed to: Canaan Conservation Commission P.O. Box 38, 1169 U.S. Rte 4 Canaan, NH 03741