Anne Brooks was born on March 9, 1931, in Kolkata, India, and passed away peacefully on April 19, 2023, at home in Bozeman, Montana. She had just celebrated her 92nd birthday.
Anne’s family moved to Needham, Massachusetts, in the mid-1930s, where she spent her formative years and developed a deep love for animals and nature. After graduating from Needham High School, she attended Smith College, where she studied zoology, acquired a teaching certificate, and made lifelong friends at German House. She gained valuable insight into animal care and behavior through her volunteer work at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston. This experience would serve her well in future endeavors, including 4-H Horse Club leadership.
In 1954, she married John Perry. They settled in Sherborn, Massachusetts, where they raised three daughters, in whom she instilled a lasting appreciation of nature and poetry. Anne was actively involved in Sherborn’s Conservation Commission and was instrumental in starting the town’s recycling program in the early 1960s. She was curious, observant, an outspoken defender of the natural world, and an engaging teacher. During her teaching work for Massachusetts Audubon Society, she inspired schoolchildren around the state through a program bringing rescued raptors, turtles and other wild animals into schools.
In 1985, Anne and John moved to Harpswell, Maine, where they spent their retirement years, tending the land, growing rhododendrons, and enjoying the ocean air as they continued their lifelong dedication to conservation and environmental education.
In 2019, after John’s passing, Anne moved to Bozeman, Montana, where she made many new friends at Highgate Senior Living. Although she missed her oceanside home, she enjoyed the close company of her daughters, and drank in the newness of the open terrain, birds and wildlife of the Rocky Mountains. She enjoyed exploring the countryside up until her last day — birding, taking photos of subjects to paint, identifying flowers, and just appreciating the life around her.
Anne was a lifelong learner, an artist and an inspiration to all who knew her. She is survived by her three daughters, Lauren Perry, Gail Masri, and Carla Pyle; son-in-law Chandler Pyle; and grandchild Aiden Masri.
The celebration of Anne’s life is ongoing — we hope those who knew her will remember and be inspired by her joy and wisdom. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her name to your local land trust, Audubon chapter or animal shelter.
