Mary Alice Parks Rhoades

Mrs. Mary Alice Parks Rhoades passed away Saturday, November 11, 2023, at Serenity South Senior Living in Troy, Alabama. She was 94 years old. Skeen Funeral Home will be assisting the Rhoades family with a simple cremation. Mrs. Rhoades was born on November 20, 1928, in Holly Bend, an historic home located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. She was preceded in death by her parents, John Lindsay and Cora Robinson Parks, her husband Charles Burton Rhoades, Jr., brothers Thomas Carlton Parks (Martha Ritchie Parks) and Joseph Gluyas Parks (Jo Ann Tolbert Parks), sister Cora Ann Parks Hudson (Harold Lamont Hudson), and brother-in-law Donald Alexander McGinnis. She is survived by her daughter Dr. Mary Ann Hooten (William R.) of Glenwood, Alabama; her sister Ava Robinson Park McGinnis of Rock Hill, SC; and many nephews and nieces. Mary Alice graduated in 1950 from Flora MacDonald College in North Carolina. She was very mathematically inclined and during her professional career she worked as a statistician with NASA, a market analyst with Celanese Textiles, and retired from the State of Alabama Highway Department where she was responsible for inventory control. She had a deep enjoyment of work and often spoke fondly of her previous employment. She was a self-described tomboy and played many sports, but especially loved bowling. She possessed a natural curiosity and had a lifelong love of learning. Over the years, she was involved with a number of hobbies including photography, collecting stamps and coins, and listening to music. She was also an avid bridge player. Memorial services will be held on December 11, 2023, at Sharon Memorial Park & McEwen Chapel in Charlotte, NC. There will be a 1:00 pm graveside gathering followed by a memorial service in the McEwen Chapel at 2:00 pm.