Dee Brock, founder who shaped Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders into global icon, dies at 96
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are mourning the loss of the organization's founder, Dee Brock. She was 96.
On Wednesday, her family confirmed the news on social media, with her grandson Craig Brock saying she passed away that morning.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders posted a single picture of Brock with the caption, "In loving memory of Dee Brock, our founding director. We will forever honor her and her legacy."
Current director Kelli Finglass, who has held a leadership role with DCC since 1991, also shared her condolences.
In an Instagram post, Finglass said in part, "Dee's leadership, imagination, and unwavering commitment to excellence shaped far more than a team. She created a standard, a spirit, and a symbol that have inspired generations and earned recognition around the world."
Greg Whiteley, the director of the Netflix hit series "America's Sweethearts," which chronicles the DCC season, interviewed Brock for the show. In his social media post, he shared how Brock created the DCC uniform.
"According to legend, she sketched the first DCC uniform on a legal pad, and designer Paula Van Wagoner and seamstress Leveta Crager turned it into the iconic look," Whitely said. "If the Cowboys ever decide to put a woman in their Ring of Honor, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more deserving than Ms. Dee Brock."
Whitely said she shared that when she decided to racially integrate the squad in a still largely segregated Dallas, "convincing Tex Schramm was among the hardest things she ever worked for."
The legacy of Dee Brock
Brock, an Oklahoma native who grew up in East Texas, helped form the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in 1961 after being approached by then-general manager Tex Schramm. She later brought the squad to the Cowboys' first Super Bowl appearance in 1971.
According to Whiteley, she shared that when Brock decided to racially integrate the squad in a still largely segregated Dallas, "convincing Tex Schramm was among the hardest things she ever worked for."
"Tex Schramm came up to her in 1960 and talked to her. She was a model currently at that time. She was working for Dr. Pepper, doing modeling for Dr. Pepper," said Craig Brock, her grandson.
He said she was ahead of her time and integrated the squad in 1965.
"She went and got a group of models, and she made sure that it was very diverse. She wanted to include all races in it so that way it was fair to everybody," Craig Brock said.
"My mom didn't see color. She saw people for what they were. Talent is talent," said Bevin Brock, Dee's son.
Brock was also a model, teacher and educator who earned a doctorate in English. She helped found El Centro College, the first community college in Dallas.
Bevin Brock said his mom didn't want to be known for founding one of the NFL's most famous cheerleading teams, but instead for her contributions to education.
"She was teaching high school and then went on to Dallas Community College District, did 'Writing for a Reason,' which was one of the first telecourses ever broadcast," Bevin Brock said.
"She spent a lot of her time helping with United Way. She worked with PBS for Adult Education," Craig Brock said.
Brock was also an avid supporter of the League of Women Voters and the Friends of the Tyler Public Library.
Her family said she had a personality that people were drawn to.
"Everywhere she went, she glue. She would light up the room. She's got a wonderful smile. She's very charismatic," Craig Brock said. "She loved to make everybody laugh and would listen to everybody."
Brock's family knows what they would like her legacy to be.
"Some of it is kind of breaking barriers, if you will, and not taking no the first time and walking away from it like it's okay, let's try different approach," Bevin Brock said.
"There's nothing that you can't do if you don't put your mind to it. It doesn't hurt to ask questions because it was her questioning that that got her to where she did and where she went," Craig Brock said. "Her very last words were, 'I lived a good life,' and then she smiled."
Brock's was a life well lived and a legacy that will carry on for generations to come.
