Morris County Woman’s Body Unclaimed: Did You Know Her?

The coroner's office is looking for any information available on the woman's living relatives, who may be in North Jersey.

By Jack Slocum, Patch Staff

Jun 4, 2026 10:43 am EDT | Updated Jun 4, 2026 10:45 am EDT

On Monday, Brooke A. Woodcock died in her Dyberry Township, PA home at the age of 72 from what has been determined to be natural causes. (Wayne County Coroner's Office)

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A Pennsylvania woman suspected to have lived in Morris County has died, and the coroner's office is looking for somebody to claim her body.

On Monday, Brooke A. Woodcock died in her Dyberry Township, PA home at the age of 72 from what has been determined to be natural causes.

The Wayne County Coroner’s Office has been unsuccessful in finding any living relatives to claim Woodcock’s body. Officials are sharing Woodcock’s story in an attempt to find someone who may have known her.

According to officials, Woodcock was born in 1953 in New Jersey, likely in Morristown. Additionally, she’s suspected of having grown up in Parsippany.

Her father, John D. Woodcock, was born in Long Island in 1925. The WWII veteran died in 1976 and spent his youth living in Morristown.

Her mother, Alice P. Woodcock, was living in Newton, NJ as of at least 2010.

Woodcock also had an aunt, Mildred P. Hodges, who lived in Denville and died in April 2010. She was married to Robert E. Hodges, who died in 2017. The couple did not have any children.

Woodcock, who officials believe to be an only child, attended Berkeley School of Fashion Merchandising.

In 1974, Woodcock may have married a man named Charles Lee Wheatley in North Carolina.

Three years later, she married Michael S. Alpern at the First Baptist Church in Morristown. Her maid of honor was Ronda Lee Franciso of Boonton, and a bridesmaid was Rowena Lavell of Tabor.

It was sometime between 2006 and 2007 when Woodcock moved from Lake Hopatcong to Wayne County, PA.

Officials believe that she never bore any children, but this is not confirmed.

Woodcock may have used the last name Wheatley or Alpern in her lifetime, officials added.

The coroner’s office says she may have aunts, uncles, cousins, or other extended relatives still living in New Jersey.

Anyone with information about Woodcock’s living relatives is asked to contact the Wayne County Coroner’s Office at waynecoroner@waynecountypa.gov or 570-488-5000.