Not many people knew Marcelle Brennan, but if you said “Sis” you had their attention. Everybody knew Sis.

“You’d say ‘Sis’ and they all knew who she was,” said Bill Jacobs, the former owner and publisher of The Daily Leader.

Brennan died earlier this month. She was 91.

Marcelle Annelle “Sis” Brennan loved all things Brookhaven and its history. She was a historian of South Jackson Street and knew all the residents with their history.  She could tell you who built any of the older homes there and the history of each.

Friends said she had a sharp mind and an insatiable curiosity right up until her death.

Jacobs said Brennan’s knowledge of people wasn’t limited to South Jackson. She could tell tales on just about anyone in Brookhaven in her days as city editor at The Daily Leader. Brennan was employed there for nearly 38 years, retiring in the ‘80s. 

“She knew everything that was going on in the community,” he said. “She knew everything about every person.”

After Brennan retired, Jacobs and the staff still turned to Brennan when they needed information about someone. “She could tell you the dirt and she could tell you the good stuff,” he said. “She was a treasure of old-style community journalism.”

Bobby Ferrell was a production manager for the paper. His time at the paper overlapped with Brennan’s. He said the editor was meticulous about accuracy when it came to reporting the news.

“She was the type of person that she wanted everything to be right. She wanted to make sure everything was right,” he said.

Brennan was known for her bridge parties, her ever-full pot of coffee and her love for animals. Memorials in Brennan’s name are can be made at Brookhaven Animal Rescue League.