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Meet Jett and John Brooks

By Christine Hall

Lynn Jett Brooks was born in Oak Park, Illinois, at the end of WWII. She grew up with her parents and two brothers in and around Birmingham, Alabama, where she lived until she married in 1965. At the height of the Civil Rights movement of the early 60s, she attended her beloved Auburn University for 2 years—WAR EAGLE! As an Army officer’s wife, she moved approximately every 3 years until her first husband was stationed at Ft. Lewis in 1974. She completed her degree in Social Work at PLU in 1977.

After doing social work for a few years at Faith Home, a group home for girls, Jett spent several years with Pacific First Federal (later acquired by WAMU) in Mergers and Acquisitions, then as a writer and editor of corporate publications, and subsequently as a Tax Assistant. When that job moved to Seattle, Jett and John, who had married in 1989, settled on Queen Anne Hill for 10 years.  During that time Jett received a call to ministry and earned her Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary’s Seattle campus.

Jett was ordained as Associate Pastor at Rainier Beach Presbyterian Church in Seattle. In 2001, she received a call to tiny Slateville Presbyterian church in Delta, PA, a rural town that straddles the PA/MD border, and is just a mile or so from the Susquehanna River and Amish country.

In 2004, after 3 years of relatively isolated rural ministry, Jett and John moved back to Tacoma to be closer to their children. With retirement approaching, Jett worked as a trained, intentional “Interim” minister. As an Interim pastor, she primarily worked from 6 months to 2 years helping congregations prepare for their new installed pastor. In that capacity, she served at Westminster Presbyterian in Tacoma and First Presbyterian Church of Hoquiam, with short-term service in Buckley and Fircrest. She also served as supply preacher at a variety of local Presbyterian churches.

God gave Jett permission to fully retire from Ministry in 2008. In her spare time, she is an avid photographer and has received several ribbons at the Puyallup Fair and other competitions. She also loves sailing, traveling, and above all else, her grandchildren. Jett values the scripture found in Micah 6:8, which reminds her to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with her God.

John Brooks was born in Ossining, New York. He spent his formative years in Dumont, New Jersey and graduated with a degree in Psychology from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. John signed up for the Air Force during the Vietnam era. Instead of going to Vietnam, he was sent to Washington, D.C. to study French for a year before being deployed to The Democratic Republic of Congo, where he flew the B-26 and C-123.

Having reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, John flew C-141 cargo planes and was the Chief of Safety at McChord Air Force Base until his retirement in 1990. From there he proceeded to Boeing, where he worked in Flight Safety and taught commercial airline pilots in the Boeing 737 flight simulator for 10+ years. 

John and Jett first met at church in Lakewood, WA in 1980, when John moved to WA. The couple began dating 7 years later and will celebrate their 32^nd Anniversary on January 5, 2021.

Together, John and Jett have lived in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Washington. They have traveled all over the United States. Their international travel includes London, Paris, Rome, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Tunisia, and Ephesus. Jett’s favorite cities are Boston and Rome, while John’s favorite place in the world is Hawaii!

Jett has twins; Stephanie (Massachusetts) and David (Puyallup).  John has 4 children; Susan (Virginia), Karen and Nancy (Kirkland) and Dave (Maple Valley). Between the two of them, Jett and John have six grandchildren. Jett feels blessed with the presence of her granddaughter, Elizabeth, who lives in Tacoma.

Jett and John love their home in Bristol View. They especially like the quality of life on campus and appreciate being relieved of home maintenance chores (e.g. keeping up a yard, replacing a furnace or hot water heater, etc.). The peaceful, safe, and comfortable atmosphere of the Franke Tobey Jones campus give John and Jett a sense of community. They look forward to participating in a variety of activities at FTJ.