Roberta Mae Parks

PARKS, STEELE, SWAILS, LORENZEN, BOWER, DYSON, BORKOWSKI, MILLER

Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 11/12/2020 at 07:50:50

Roberta Mae Parks, 94, of Iowa City, died on Friday, October 23 at Prairie Hills Assisted Living and Memory Care in Tipton.

Funeral Services will be at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, October 27 at Lensing Funeral and Cremation Service, Iowa City. Burial will follow at Salem Cemetery in Ainsworth, IA. Family will greet friends prior to and following the service at the funeral home. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Roberta’s family respectfully requires attendees wear masks and observe social distancing. Thank you. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to First United Methodist Church, Iowa City.

Roberta was born on November 9, 1925 in Louisa County, IA, daughter of Carl and Lola (Swails) Steele. She grew up on a farm and graduated from Columbus Junction High School.

After attending Iowa Wesleyan College, Roberta taught school. She married John (Jay) Parks on August 9, 1947.

Jay was in the Army. In twenty years of Army life, Roberta established a home and friends from one post to another. This included three years in Stuttgart, Germany, with a baby and a toddler. Then later, they moved to Munich, Germany, with her daughters, a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old.

After settling in Iowa City (1967), Roberta worked in the Department of Tumor Registry at the University of Iowa, where she became Registrar. She retired in 1993 after 25 years.

She was a member of the Nathaniel Fellows Chapter of DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), and a member of First United Methodist Church.

She enjoyed traveling extensively: to Washington D.C. for DAR, research for genealogy, and overseas for pleasure.

Throughout her life Roberta’s family was central to her. She enjoyed family gatherings whether it be birthdays, Christmases, Easters, reunions, babysitting her granddaughters, or just plain visits.

Roberta is survived by her daughter, Susan (David) Lorenzen of Tipton; grandchildren Alexis Lorenzen, Mackenzie Lorenzen and Hannah (Jeremy) Bower; and her great-grandchildren Jayana and Brooks Bower. She is also survived by a brother, Darris Steele, a sister, Maralee (John) Dyson, and two nieces and five nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband John L. Parks, her daughter Jayana L. Parks Borkowski, her parents, and a sister, Rovona Miller.

Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
 

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