Caroline Rose Parks Obituary (1931 - 2021)

Caroline Rose (Jones) Parks entered life on December 19, 1931 as a child of Florence Genevra (Kelch) Jones and Carison Grant Jones. She was born in a log cabin in Wyandotte, OK. Her Grandfather and Father were also born in the same cabin. Caroline started school at the very young age of 4 wishing to be like her older brother Clifford. She never missed a day of school having achieved a perfect attendance record all the way thru High School. She was a voracious reader and loved school. She often told stories of doing hers and others homework while they waited after school for the school bus. She started off attending Barnsdall 55 school in Turley, OK. She went there until she was in the 7th Grade after which her family moved back to Wyandotte, OK. After graduating as Valedictorian of Wyandotte High School in 1949, she went on to graduate as Valedictorian from NEO A&M Jr College in Miami, OK in 1951. It was there Caroline met her future husband Calvin Parks. She attended a student mixer and was noticed by Calvin from across the room. (He told his friend that he was going to "marry that girl".) He then went up to her and asked her to dance. She told him she didn't know how to dance. He was persistent and she eventually gave in. After the dance, he asked if he could walk her home and upon arrival, he asked her to marry him. Laughing, she told him no. They saw each other often, always ending the evening with a proposal and always her same answer, NO. Again, he was determined, and they were married 3 months later on December 29, 1951. That was when they moved to Tulsa where they had their 2 daughters, Madelyn Ruth and Kerri Diane. Caroline worked as a secretary/stenographer at Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. She later became an Administrative Officer at the US Army Corps of Engineers, retiring after 26 years. She was the first Administrative Officer in the Engineering and Construction (E&C) Division and claimed that was her favorite job of all her years of working outside the home. Caroline was the one of the first people to pass the Certified Professional Secretaries test on the first try. (This was a 2-day test with 6 sections). After retirement, Calvin and Caroline traveled for a few years in their motorhome and lived a quiet, peaceful life. Caroline was a somewhat introverted person, but if you were blessed to become her friend, she held you dear. Caroline had a deep love for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She had many hobbies including reading, crocheting, sewing, bowling, and playing golf, but golfing became her favorite activity so she could spend more time with her husband. She really loved animals, especially dogs, which she said gave her such love. On December 25, 2016, she lost her husband of 65 years. Her health began declining after that. Since losing Calvin, she continued to attended church at Adventist Fellowship as often as she could until her health declined, keeping her faith and love for God strong. She told her daughter Madelyn that strangers came up to her and felt like she had an aura about her, and they believed it to be from God. She had never seen these people before and has never seen them since. Though she was surprised by the experience, it touched her heart. Preceding her in death were her parents, brother, and husband. Survivors include: Her daughters, Madelyn Rosenthal and husband, Terry of Tulsa and Kerri Stark of Tulsa; 7 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren and numerous relatives and friends. A funeral service is planned for 10am on Friday December 3, 2021 at the Memorial Park Cemetery Chapel (5111 South Memorial Drive, Tulsa, OK). Visitation will be from 5-7pm on Thursday December 2, 2021 at Dillon Funeral Home (1200 N Cleveland, Sand Springs, OK).