Elvine I. Brooks

It is with hearts full of both gratitude and grief that we announce the passing of Elvine Icilda Livingstone Brooks — known to her family as "Jamaican Ice." She was a woman of uncommon strength, radiant warmth, and a million-dollar smile, whose life was a testament to what is possible when intelligence, grace, and faith converge.

Elvine was born on June 12, 1947, in Scott's Pass, a small village in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. She was the youngest child and only daughter of Hazel and Joseph Livingstone, raised alongside her older brothers Alston and Winston.

As an adolescent, she sold fruit along the roadside to help support her family, under the watchful eyes of her brothers. As a teenager, she worked for the Jamaican Government, communicating via Morse code with banana boats sailing the Caribbean. Academically gifted, she was one of only two students from her district selected to march in the Jamaican Independence parade in Kingston — an honor that reflected both her excellence and her character.

Upon completing secondary school, she was recruited to attend Minnesota Bible College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She accepted that invitation and immigrated to the United States in the fall of 1964, at just seventeen years of age. She spent two years studying at MBC and then transferred to the University of Minnesota, pursuing a BA in Business Administration. She was recruited by Northwestern Bell during her final year at the U of M, and accepted an offer to join the company.

Unknown places can be frightening, but she walked through her fear and made Minnesota her permanent home. She married Darrell Brooks on March 12, 1967, in Minneapolis. Together they had three children — Angela, Christopher, and Elizabeth — whom they raised briefly in Uptown and then in South Minneapolis.

She went on to build a distinguished career spanning more than thirty years in the telecommunications industry, retiring as a beloved manager whose leadership touched several hundred employees at AT&T. Those who worked with and for her knew her as someone who led with both excellence and compassion — the same qualities her parents and community had poured into her during her formative years in Scott's Pass. She carried Jamaica with her everywhere she went, and her love for Jamaican culture, food, and the reggae rhythms of her sweet island never faded.

Believing she still had gifts to offer the world, she came out of retirement and spent more than ten years in customer service at Cartier Lighting. Her final role was at Masonic Home in Bloomington, where she applied her administrative and organizational strengths to update systems and processes. She was beloved by all who knew her there.

Elvine was a woman of deep Christian faith. She loved her church family, taught adult Sunday School, served without reservation, and loved others unconditionally.

Her family was her anchor and her greatest joy. Being a mother and grandmother was her highest calling — her favorite "job." She will be remembered for her kindness, her big smile and her loud, hearty laugh.

She is survived by her three children: Angela (Duane) Baker, Christopher (Bobbi), and Kitty (Jack) Norton; her seven grandchildren: David, Selah, Gabriel, Daniel, Lily, Mykah, and Zoe; her great-grandson, Shiloh; and a second great-grandchild whose arrival is eagerly anticipated in July 2026. She is also survived by her extended family in the United States, in Jamaica, and in England; her beloved church family; and the many lives she shaped across decades of faithful service.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Hazel; her father, Joseph; and her two older brothers, Alston (Ally) and Winston.

She will be deeply missed — until we see her again.

Funeral service 11:00 AM Friday, May 22 at Roseville Covenant Church, 2865 Hamline Ave N., Roseville with visitation from 10-11 AM. Interment Oak Hill Cemetery, Mpls.

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