Mary Elizabeth Thomas Peavey Brooks (November 1, 1907 – February 11, 2002) was an American politician. She directed the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bull ...

from September 1969 to February 1977.

Early life and education

Mary Elizabeth Thomas was born to John Thomas and Florence (Johnson) Thomas on November 1, 1907, in Colby,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Her parents moved to Gooding,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, in early 1909 when she was 14 months of age. Her father was a rancher and banker; he was appointed a U.S. Senator from Idaho twice (following the deaths of Frank R. Gooding in 1928 and

William Borah William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in Idaho's history. A progressive who served from 1907 until his death in 1940, Borah voted for A ...

in 1940). An only child, Thomas graduated from

Gooding High School Gooding High School is a public high school located in Gooding, Idaho, United States. It is the main high school operated by the Gooding School District. Athletics Gooding High School is classified as a 3A school (enrollment between 320 and 63 ...

in 1925, and attended

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, then a two-year women's school. She transferred to the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1927, where she was a member of the

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than ...

sorority In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

, and received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

in 1929.

Marriages

She met her first husband, Arthur Jacob "Art" Peavey, Jr. of Twin Falls, while they were students at the University of Idaho. He was a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

fraternity and also graduated in 1929. He drowned in a boating accident on the Snake River in 1941 and wasn't found for ten days, which left her a widow in her early thirties with two young children. A short time later her mother died, so she moved her family to Washington, D.C., where her father was serving in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. Her second husband, C. Wayland "Curly" Brooks, was a U.S. Senator from Illinois. They were married in May 1946 for eleven years, until his death from a massive heart attack in 1957. After he left the Senate in January 1949, they had lived in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area. Brooks took over her father's Idaho sheep ranch after his death in 1945 and ran it until her son took it over in 1961.

Idaho Senate

Brooks was elected to the Idaho State Senate in 1964, and served until 1969, when she was named to head the

U.S. Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. The U.S. Mint is one of two U.S. age ...

by President

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

in September. Her son, John Peavey, was appointed to her seat in the state senate and served for all but two of the next 25 years. (He lost the Republican primary in 1976, then won the seat back as a Democrat in 1978.) A failed attempt at lieutenant governor in 1994 marked the end of his political career.

Director of the United States Mint

President Nixon appointed Brooks director of the U.S. Mint, the third woman named to the post. She oversaw the first production of the

Eisenhower dollar The Eisenhower dollar is a one-dollar coin issued by the United States Mint from 1971 to 1978; it was the first coin of that denomination issued by the Mint since the Peace dollar series ended in 1935. The coin depicts President Dwight D. Eis ...

coin, as well as the design of the

Bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins for the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

. She is credited with saving the original San Francisco Mint building, known as the "Granite Lady," by transferring it to the Treasury Department. The building, one of the few to survive the Great Earthquake of 1906, had been vacant since 1937 and fallen into disrepair. It is now both a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

and a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

. Brooks received the "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" Award in 1974 from the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau for her preservation efforts. During Brooks' tenure as Director of the Mint, she famously led a tour of the U.S. Bullion Depository at

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

for members of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and the

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on September 23, 1974. , this tour still is the only time that the inside of the USBD has been seen by members of the public. In addition, Brooks was awarded the

American Numismatic Association The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is an organization founded in 1891 by George Francis Heath. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics (the study of coins) along educational, historic ...

's Medal of Merit in 1988, and was the first woman to receive the

United States Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

's highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award. She was inducted into the

Alumni Association's Hall of Fame in 1970. The university also conferred upon her an honorary doctorate in 1999.

Death

Brooks died in 2002 at age 94 in Twin Falls. She was survived by a son, John Peavey (1933–2024), of Carey, and a daughter, Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Eccles (1936–2004), of McCall, and six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Notes

References

External links

University of Idaho Library: Idaho's Women of Influence
– Mary Brooks
US Mint.gov
– Directors of the United States Mint: 1792–present

– July 19, 1976 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Mary 1907 births 2002 deaths Directors of the United States Mint Republican Party Idaho state senators Mills College alumni People from Gooding, Idaho People from Colby, Kansas Ranchers from Idaho Spouses of Illinois politicians University of Idaho alumni Women state legislators in Idaho Illinois Republicans 20th-century American women politicians Nixon administration personnel Ford administration personnel Carter administration personnel Washington, D.C., Republicans 20th-century members of the Idaho Legislature