Elizabeth Caroline Brooks Perdue, beloved mother, wife, sister, aunt and friend, died Sunday, August 16, 2026, in Oklahoma City, following an extended battle with Parkinson's disease.

The eldest daughter in a family of seven children, Caroline was born February 18, 1942, outside Mountain Home, Arkansas, at the farmhouse of her paternal grandfather, George Washington Brooks. She was the second child of John Leonard Brooks and Lena (Appleby) Brooks.

Caroline spent her childhood in Mountain Home, before the family moved to Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1956. She attended Jarman Jr. High School and Midwest City High School, before graduating in 1964 from the University of Oklahoma with a teaching degree. Her chosen profession surprised no one because Caroline was instantly loved by all children who knew her, including her younger siblings, who considered her a second mom.

For her first job out of college, Caroline chose to travel 720 miles to Farmington, New Mexico, with younger brother Fletcher in tow, because her parents didn't want her to drive that far alone. It was a fateful decision. In her third-grade classroom was a student, Jan Perdue, whose mother had recently passed. The young girl's aunt was also a teacher at the school. Caroline bonded with both, and through them met Billy "Bill" Mack Perdue, who became her husband of 40 years.

With the marriage, Caroline not only gained a beautiful daughter but a devoted son as well, Rodney Perdue.

The family soon moved to Canadian, Texas, where Caroline became a beloved and popular grade school teacher. Everybody wanted "pretty Mrs. Perdue" for their teacher. She eventually earned her master's degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and became a respected reading specialist.

Upon Bill's retirement in the 1980s, the two returned to Caroline's roots in the Mountain Home area, where they lived for 20 years, attending Mountain Home Baptist Church and celebrating often with Caroline's Bodenhamer family cousins. In 2004, they moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas, to be near three of Caroline's brothers: Curtis, George and Fletcher. Family was always very important to Caroline.

While in Bella Vista, Caroline taught Sunday school and sometimes played organ at the Village Baptist Church. Eventually, she would find her way to the Jasmine Estates Memory Center in Oklahoma City, to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law and two sisters, all of whom made sure her last years were good years.

Caroline will always be remembered for her sweet nature, sense of humor, generosity and, not least, incomparable chocolate sheet cake. She was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.

Caroline is survived by her daughter Jan Perdue Johnson (Larry), and son Rodney Perdue (Pam); grandchildren Billy Perdue, and Shane and Jeff Powell; great-grandchildren Lexie, Elizabeth and Coy Perdue; Kaden, James and Jewel Jano; and Stella and Olivia Powell; sisters Charlotte Brooks Gay (John Paul) and Mary Brooks Perkins (Darrell) and brother Jim Brooks (Nancy); sisters-in-law Barbara Brooks and Sheila Brooks and brother-in-law Todd Pratt. Her many nieces and nephews, who hold a special place in their hearts for "Aunt Caroline," include Carol Stout Donovan, Brad Donovan, Roger Stout, Andy Stout, Diane Brooks Binckley, Joe Brooks, James Brooks, Shellye Brooks, Raegan Hines, Daniel Gay, Juliana Gay Vaughan, John Perkins, Jennifer Perkins Clements, Lena Brooks and Cord Brooks, Others who enriched her life are cousin Miriam Hunter Moore (Jeff), the many Bodenhamer cousins and countless friends across her long journey. She was preceded in death by husband Bill; granddaughter Shyla Jano; brothers Curtis, George and Fletcher Brooks; and nephew Paul Brooks.

A celebration of Caroline's life is planned for the fall.