Mary Alice "Pat" Parks

Mary Alice “Pat” Parks, age 95, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, 2/5/14, at the Spokane Valley Hospital with family by her side. Pat was born in Cartersville, GA on 8/12/1918 to Charles & Ruth Ellis but lived most of her life in Pensacola, FL, where she was Miss Pensacola Beach in 1934. In 1940, she married her husband of 23 years, Clarence Parks, who retired as an AF Capt. ‘flying the hump’ in the China Theater during World War II. Pat and her family were long-time members of First United Methodist Church, Pensacola, where she kept the church nursery for 30 years. She also volunteered with the American Cancer society.

After the death of her husband in 1963, she worked as an administrative assistant & provided home health care for the Upjohn Company in Pensacola, and also cared for her parents, Charles & Ruth Ellis, until their deaths. In 1995, she moved to Spokane, WA to be closer to immediate family & became a member of Spokane Valley United Methodist Church. Her favorite activities centered around family and friends. She will be remembered for her easy smile, her friendship to many & her never-fail macaroni & cheese. She has passed on her enduring faith, determination & strength of character to her family.

Pat was also preceded in death by her sister, Margaretta (Ellis) Merrill, & daughter-in-law, Kim (Sullivan) Parks. She is survived by her daughter, Ruth Ohl Andrew & husband, Dennis, Spokane, WA; her son, Charles “Chuck” Parks, Cleveland, GA; & grandchildren, Phillip C. Ohl & wife Diane, Richland, WA and Allison Ohl Workman and husband, Chris, Danielsville, GA. Pat was great-grandmother to Jamie Ohl & Tate Ohl, Richland, WA (both attending WSU) & Asher Ellis Workman, Danielsville, GA.

In her later years she was lovingly cared for by doctors, Philip Huber, Sean Garman, Suzanne Staudinger, & Stephen Woodard, DDS, with compassionate care at Sullivan Park Care Center. She was chosen as their Senior Lilac Queen Candidate (& 2nd Runner Up) for the 2013 Spokane Lilac Festival. A summer family service will be held at Bayview Memorial Park, Pensacola, FL with arrangements through Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home, Spokane Valley. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials in Pat’s name to the Sullivan Park Care Center, 14820 E. 4th, Spokane, WA 99216, or the First United Methodist Church, 6 East Wright Street, Pensacola, FL, 32501. Condolences will be appreciated at the Memorial Pages of the Hazen & Jaeger Spokane Valley Funeral Home web site: http://www.hazenjaegervalley.com.