BROOKE ELAINE BURGHER GIBBS
1988-2017
Brooke Elaine Burgher Gibbs, 29, of Beaumont, Texas, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, June 25, 2017. Brooke was born on February 1, 1988, in Houston, Texas. She was the muchanticipated first child of Brian and Tiffany Burgher. She married the love of her life, Tracy Osborn Gibbs, on March 29, 2014, on Avery Island, Louisiana.
From the day she was born, Brooke was a shining star. As a child, she expressed a sunny personality, an inquisitive mind, and a joyful spirit of play and friendship. As she grew into an adult, that sunny personality remained, buoyed by an uncommon intelligence, an innate understanding of the importance of genuine friendships, and an abiding love of sports and athletics. Brooke was an exceptional athlete and fierce competitor who excelled at many sports but particularly at basketball. She was a three-year starter at Stratford High School, set a school record for the most free throws made in one season (2006), finished in 5th place for scoring in the city of Houston, and won the Don Coleman Award for outstanding basketball player of the year in the Spring Branch ISD. Brooke finished college in three years and was a proud 2009 graduate of Texas A&M University at College Station and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. For the past seven years, Brooke worked for Engage2Excel, a recruiting firm, where she impressed co-workers, clients, and prospective employees alike with her outstanding problem-solving and people skills. Although Brooke worked in an online environment, she developed positive, meaningful relationships with her clients and applicants through her commitment to her craft and her ability to communicate her focused goals and objectives without ever having face-toface meetings.
Brooke was a prodigious hunter and fisherman. For 20 years, she and the rest of the Burgher family enjoyed annual Thanksgiving hunts with the Gabrisch family. She shot dove in Argentina, nilgai and white-tailed deer in South Texas, and skeet at the Rolling Rock Club in Pennsylvania.
Tracy and Brooke traveled the world in style, and their photos on Facebook and Instagram reflect their shared love of visiting a myriad of destinations– from Port Eads to Port Aransas; from Telluride to Turks & Caicos; from Cancun to Cabo; from New York to New Orleans; from Lake McQueeney to Las Vegas; from Austin to Australia – with each other or with their wide range of friends, from San Antonio to College Station to Houston to Beaumont.
Brooke believed in giving back. She was a registered organ and tissue donor. Through her gifts, others will go on to live healthy and productive lives.
Brooke was preceded in death by her loving grandparents, Rob Elaine Burgher and George Burgher, and David Doucette. She is survived by her best friend and loving husband, Tracy Gibbs; loving parents, Brian and Tiffany Burgher; twin sisters Libby Burgher and Shelby Burgher; grandmother Margaret Doucette; aunts and uncles Susie & Matt Pyle; Brian & Katherine Thompson; Elaine Burgher & Suzanne Jerrett; Ellen & Mike Williams; Lisa & Kelly Haws; cousins: Blake Barnett; Hannah & Henry Haws; Sarah & Ryan LavinBurgher; Sloan, Stockton and Sawyer Pyle; Courtney & John Spafford; Will Thompson; mother-in-law Patty Gibbs; brother-in-law Shelby Gibbs, wife Lindsay, and their children Gray and Reed; sister-in-law Rosemary Talkington, husband Lance, and their children Avery, Tyler, and Miles.
The Burgher and Gibbs families would like to thank friends and family for the outpouring of love and support we have received during this incredibly difficult time. We will always love Brooke, and her strong and positive presence will live in our hearts forever.
There will be a memorial service on Friday, June 30, 2017, at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive, Houston, at 11:00 a.m. A private family burial service will follow on Saturday, July 1, 2017, on Avery Island, Louisiana.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to one of the following groups: 2017 Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Southeast (www.act.alz. org – Brooke Gibbs’ team GrandStandsForACure); Alzheimer’s Regional Office, 700 North Street, Ste. M, Beaumont, TX 77701; or The Brookwood Community, 1752 FM 1489, Brookshire, TX 77423.
2 Thessalonians 3:16: Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.