Barbara Brooke Possenti was born on All Saints Day and although her parents had already chosen her middle name (which was what she always went by), her first name was suggested by a nun at the Catholic Hospital where she was born — Saint Barbara is the patron saint of little children. Raised in Havre, she graduated from Montana State in Bozeman where she was a member of Sigma Chi sorority, and went on to become the first woman Marine officer from Havre. While stationed at Camp Pendleton, California she met and married a fellow Marine officer on April 2, 1961. They had one child during their marriage (which ended in divorce in 1989). After years spent moving around the country, the family retired to an old farmhouse in Maine, which they restored and updated. Remaining in the area for a few years after her divorce, Brooke returned to Havre in the mid-1990's to help care for her mother. She was very artistic in myriad ways, a talented seamstress, and always kept a beautiful, cozy, and immaculate home. She made and collected miniatures and refinished beautiful pieces of antique furniture bought at auctions, flea markets, and salvage stores. She hated to cook but made the world's best chocolate chip cookies. A 6-ft tall force of nature, she had a big personality, big sense of humor, big laugh, and a big circle of lifelong friends. She died of complications of dementia on Sep 24, 2017 in Chinook, Montana at age 81.
Barbara Brooke Possenti was born on All Saints Day and although her parents had already chosen her middle name (which was what she always went by), her first name was suggested by a nun at the Catholic Hospital where she was born — Saint Barbara is the patron saint of little children. Raised in Havre, she graduated from Montana State in Bozeman where she was a member of Sigma Chi sorority, and went on to become the first woman Marine officer from Havre. While stationed at Camp Pendleton, California she met and married a fellow Marine officer on April 2, 1961. They had one child during their marriage (which ended in divorce in 1989). After years spent moving around the country, the family retired to an old farmhouse in Maine, which they restored and updated. Remaining in the area for a few years after her divorce, Brooke returned to Havre in the mid-1990's to help care for her mother. She was very artistic in myriad ways, a talented seamstress, and always kept a beautiful, cozy, and immaculate home. She made and collected miniatures and refinished beautiful pieces of antique furniture bought at auctions, flea markets, and salvage stores. She hated to cook but made the world's best chocolate chip cookies. A 6-ft tall force of nature, she had a big personality, big sense of humor, big laugh, and a big circle of lifelong friends. She died of complications of dementia on Sep 24, 2017 in Chinook, Montana at age 81.
