Remembering Brooke

Brooke Chambers’ life was way too brief, yet she made a lasting impact through her kindness and care.

By Reggie Hayes
Photography by Tim Brumbeloe and provided by the Chambers family

Joe Chambers considers his 1-year-old daughter Eleanor Grace “the guiding light for us all.”

The little girl her family lovingly calls “Ellie” has a contagious smile, a developing sense of humor and her mother’s eyes.

“A lot of babies have very pretty eyes, but Ellie’s eyes are just like a snapshot of Brooke’s eyes,” Joe said. “That’s one of the first things everyone says about Eleanor is how she has Brooke’s eyes.”

That light in Eleanor’s eyes—along with the love of family and friends—keeps Joe moving forward one day at a time. 

The story of how Brooke (Weaver) Chambers’ life was cut short is a heartbreaking one to share and to absorb. A one-of-a-kind combination of kindness, joy and scientific brilliance, Brooke suffered a medical emergency when she was 38-and-a-half-weeks pregnant. She slipped into a coma and spent six weeks in intensive care, passing away on Sept. 24, 2025. After an emergency procedure, premature baby Eleanor was placed in a neonatal intensive care unit, where she overcame long odds to survive and thrive.

“They were in different hospitals just due to the severity of both of their conditions,” Joe said. “We had a lot of family around us and a lot of support. Having family with you is the only way to get through something like this.”

As unimaginably difficult as the year since Brooke’s death has been, Joe and the rest of Brooke’s family continue to keep her memory alive through their own caring and kindness. The impact Brooke left in 33 years resonates daily with those who knew her and loved her. She was honored posthumously as the Saint Francis Distinguished Alumna this fall.

“Brooke’s dad (Kenneth Weaver) and I always say that when you lose someone, it’s pretty easy to exaggerate or kind of over-glorify someone’s memory,” Joe said. “But we still feel like we’re not doing Brooke justice no matter what we say—because she was just that good of a person.”

Brooke (BS ’14) and Joe (BS ’14) met at Saint Francis freshman orientation, both studying biology with a high interest in molecular biology. They became best friends and eventually inseparable, marrying in June 2016. They earned doctorates at the University of Notre Dame, one of Brooke’s favorite places. “Ph.D. work is very stressful, it’s very tough, but we loved it,” Joe said. “We used to have lab between Touchdown Jesus and the football stadium, and we would sit on a bench and say, ‘Can you believe we’re at Notre Dame?’”

They launched successful careers and eventually ended up at Stryker, a medical technologies company in Fort Wayne. Brooke was manager of medical affairs and Joe is manager of regulatory and clinical affairs. Settling down where they grew up had always been part of their long-term plans. They wanted to be close to extended family as they started their own.

Brooke’s career blossomed at Stryker, with a pair of promotions in little more than two years. She wrote 15 articles published in scientific journals over an eight-year period, which is a phenomenal number, Joe said. She was a valued guest speaker, and other scientists still rely on her research. The couple often returned to Saint Francis to help with student science and research events.

“It’s hard for anyone to be exceptional at one aspect of life, and Brooke just happened to be exceptional at everything. Whatever role she was in, she was exceptional. Everyone talks about how Brooke just genuinely cared about them. When people were with Brooke, she made them feel like the most important person. We all need to slow down and make sure we appreciate other people.”

Joe Chambers (BS ’14)

Joe emphasized how difficult it is to describe Brooke without sounding like he’s going overboard. “I always tell people no one should be that smart, that kind, that genuine and that caring. And then she also happened to be extremely pretty.”

In the year since losing Brooke, Joe and his family have found comfort in each other and in the community that has come together to take care of Eleanor, who continues to surprise her doctor sat every milestone. Joe sees Brooke’s smile, as well as her eyes, in Eleanor.

“It’s the strangest of emotions for me personally—and for all of us—because you are so happy about Eleanor doing well but you’re destroyed about losing Brooke,” Joe said. “Ellie has been the focus of all of us. Raising a baby is difficult; there are long nights. But having the perspective we have makes those tough times easier because you’re so thankful she’s here. She is our shining light.”