PARKS, Marlys Jane (Howell) 1937-2018

PARKS, HOWELL

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 1/6/2018 at 10:15:06

Marlys Parks

September 23, 1937 - January 3, 2018

Marlys Parks, 80, of Charles City, passed away Wednesday, January 3, 2018, at the 11th Street Chautauqua Guest Home in Charles City, Iowa.

A funeral service for Marlys Parks will be held 1:30 p.m. Monday, January 8, 2018 at Hauser Funeral Home in Charles City with Pastor Wendy Johannesen from West St. Charles and Floyd Grace United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will be at Riverside Cemetery.

Visitation will be at Hauser Funeral Home Sunday, January 7, 2018 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and will continue one hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Monday.

Marlys Jane (Howell) Parks, the daughter of Dana and Avis (Edwinson) Howell, was born September 23, 1937 in Fargo, North Dakota. She received her education in Belmond, Iowa graduating from Belmond High School in 1955. Marlys attended Hamilton Business College and obtained her business degree on August 11, 1957.

Marlys was united in marriage to Eugene Parks on March 1, 1957. After completing their education, the couple made their home in St. James, Minnesota where Marlys worked at TUMICO (a micrometer manufacturer) as secretary. She and Eugene then went out to Bozeman, Montana looking for work, but were unable to find any so returned home. They lived in Des Moines where Marlys was a secretary and in Belmond where she started raising their family and was a homemaker.

In 1964, Marlys and Eugene moved to Charles City where they worked and continued to raise their family. Marlys was manager of the apartment buildings that were built by her husband's company. The tornado in 1968 made it necessary to rebuild and fix a lot of those apartment buildings and in 1971 they built the Charles City Laundromat and Dry Cleaning which Marlys worked at part-time. In 1973, Eugene built their last house in Charles City that the family lived in. Marlys was also the bookkeeper for all of the convenience stores she and Eugene owned.

Marlys was a good seamstress, kept a tidy house, enjoyed watching her grandchildren, took part in Zumba classes (even recently) and was generous to a fault. She loved to stay busy. Her passion was music; Marlys played the piano, accordion, organ, guitar, harmonica (just learning) and loved to sing and dance around the house. Her favorite saying was, “Live, Laugh, Love”.

Living family members include her four children: Pamela (Byron) Lessin of Charles City, Perry Parks of Goodell, Scott (Angela) Parks of Charles City and Jerry (Katherine Turpen) Parks of Las Vegas, Nevada; 14 grandchildren: Anthony (Jennifer) Lessin of Charles City, Sara Lessin of Mason City, Gabrielle (Morgan) Ivy of Walcott, Alexander Parks of DeWitt, Andrew (Becky) Parks of Ankeny, Hannah (Luke) Leidal of Charles City, Justin Meyer of Normal, Illinois, Jordon Parks, Brynn Parks, Brandon (Cassi) Parks and Jeridan Parks all of Charles City, Maisy (Luke) Ebersole, Jackson Parks and Grace Parks all of Las Vegas, Nevada; eight great-grandchildren: Cameron and Madilyn Lessin, Wrigley, Juliet, Alivia, Riley, Maylyn and Harper Parks; two sisters: Lora (Russ) Talbot of Belmond and Janet Cleveland of Forest City; along with numerous nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Eugene on January 6, 2010; brother-in-law, David Cleveland; and nephew, Tim Cleveland.

Hauser Funeral Home, 641-228-2323, in Charles City, is in charge of local arrangements. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.hauserfh.com.

SOURCE: Mason City Globe Gazette, 6 JAN 2018