Mary Brooke Oliphint Casad has written a series of books about an armadillo named Bluebonnet, detailing Bluebonnet’s travels around Texas.
A native of Louisiana and graduate of University High School on the LSU campus, Casad received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and also studied at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England. She spent her childhood summers in the Texas Hill Country at Camp Waldemar, where she was first introduced to armadillos! She edited a history of the 75-year-old camp: The Waldemar Story – Camping in the Texas Hill Country. Casad was invited by First Lady Laura Bush to be a featured Texas writer at the Texas Book Festival in Austin in 1997 and 2000. She is a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Chapter BC of P.E.O. and Kappa Kappa Gamma.
Casad is the co-author of a discipleship study series, The Basics, published by Abingdon Press, 2016. The series includes three books–Citizens of Hope, The Road to Amazing, Get in the Game–written with her brother, Dr. Clayton Oliphint, pastor of First United Methodist Church, Richardson, Texas.
Mary Brooke is an active United Methodist layperson, having served on the committee that produced The United Methodist Hymnal (1989). She was elected to serve as a delegate to six United Methodist General and Jurisdictional Conferences (1992-2012), and as lay leader of the North Texas delegation three times (2000-2008). She previously served as chair of UMR Communications, Inc. Board of Directors. She is past chair of the Foundation for Evangelism trustees and a current honorary trustee and served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Texas Methodist Foundation. She is secretary of the Board of Directors for Project Transformation National. Casad was Director of Connectional Ministries for the United Methodist Church in the Dallas area for ten years, the first woman and layperson named to this position. She is the former Executive Secretary of The Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church. Her husband, Dr. Victor E. Casad, is a retired United Methodist clergyman. They reside in Richardson, Texas and have two sons, a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.
