PARKS, Dorothy 1917-2009

PARKS, LUTTERMAN, WULF

Posted By: Gerald (email)
Date: 11/22/2010 at 20:25:05

Dorothy Grace Lutterman Parks, R.N., 91, of Paducah, Ky., formerly of Wellsburg, Iowa, passed on to the Lord's Kingdom Wednesday, October 7, 2009, at 11:25 a.m.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 10, 2009, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church with Pastor John Rogers officiating. Music will be provided by Jan Hylko. Burial will follow at Mount Kenton Cemetery.

Dorothy was born December 16, 1917, the second of four children born to Jacob and Augusta Wulf Lutterman in Wellsburg, Iowa. While in high school, she became a star basketball player earning All-State honors in 1934 and 1935 as well as a State Championship. In 1970, Iowa established its High School Basketball Hall of Fame and Dorothy was the first inductee. After high school, she attended Iowa State Teachers College and was a school teacher for a short time.

Dorothy entered nurses training at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, earning her R.N. degree in 1940. She enlisted in the Army Medical Corps in 1941. She achieved the rank of Captain while serving in the 70th Evacuation Medical Army Surgical Hospital in France and Germany following the D-Day invasion. She was awarded two battle stars for her service.

Dorothy and her family moved to Paducah in 1955 when her husband's last military assignment was to begin with the Army Reserve Unit in Paducah. She worked as plant nurse at Union Carbide, then as a member of the surgical unit team at Western Baptist Hospital and later as Director of Nurses at Parkview Convalescent Center. She was one of the first two nurses to be certified in geriatric care in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Dorothy was proud of her induction into the Iowa Hall of Fame, her honor of being selected as Duchess of Paducah in 1975 and her service to our country during World War II but most of all, she was proud of her children and grandchildren. She will be most fondly remembered and sadly missed.

She is survived by her four children: one son, Dr. William Parks Jr. of Louisville, Ky.; three daughters, Penny Smith of Warsaw, Ky., Patricia Blaine of Kevil, Ky., and Dr. Deborah Parks of St. Louis, Mo.; one sister, Alice Barkmeier of Naples, Fla.; one brother, Gerald Lutterman of Fort Worth, Texas; eight grandchildren, Spencer Smith, Chris Smith, Katie Parks, Sabrina Parks-Bent, John Blaine, Lindsey Blaine, Brent Dawson and Erin Dawson; and three great-grandchildren.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, Major William Eugene Parks; her parents; and one sister, Naomi Peters.

Visitation will be held from 5 until 8 p.m. today, October 9, 2009, at Milner & Orr Funeral Home of Paducah.

Memorial contributions may be made in the form of donations to either of the following charities: Lewy Body Dementia Association, In Honor of Dorothy Parks or Alzheimer's Association.

Milner & Orr Funeral Home of Paducah is in charge of arrangements.

--The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky), 9 October 2009