Your gifts in Memory of George will help so many at the Y!
Your generous gift will help so many in our community regain health and enable them to enjoy life. Your donation will be directed to the YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program.
With George's family, we thank you for your generosity....
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George W. Parks Jr.
April 28, 1946 – December 7, 2025
IN THE CARE OF
It is with heavy hearts and warm memories that our family announces the passing of George Walter Parks Jr, age 79, of Largo, Florida. Born April 28, 1946, George was raised in the Midwest, growing up in Kansas City, Missouri and graduating from North Kansas City High School in 1965. He was a devoted husband to Barbara, his high school sweetheart and wife of 60 years. George and Barbara had two daughters, Cassandra Parks Swenson (husband Steve Swenson) and Carol Parks (husband Mike Vold) and two grandchildren, Kelsey Thomas Gorton and Sara Parksvold. George was preceded in death by his sister Polly Strang (Lee), his mother Sadie Parks, his father George Parks and his step mother Lenore Parks.
A proud fourth generation Teamster, George loved driving. He will be remembered as a skilled and cheerful driver for Yellow, Red Ball, and Northwest Motor Freight. George spent his weekends and vacations packing his family into a van, exploring and driving across the country; California to New York, Canada to Mexico, camping on mountains and beaches, deserts and prairies. In later years, he and his wife Barbara would drive to cruise ports, where he took great joy competing in bellyflopping and hairy man contests.
Raising his girls through the 1970s and 80s, George was an original girl dad, teaching his daughters how to change oil and tires, handle all manner of power tools, and the thrill of finding a bargain in the local garage sales. He loved teaching them the peace of canoeing down a quiet river and gliding across the bay in a sailboat, although he sometimes resorted to deceptive measures, such as claiming that snakes can't swim. George was a very proud and doting grandfather. A tech wizard even in high school in the 1960s, he shared his passion with his grandchildren, exchanging TikTok videos and promoting Sara's YouTube channel.
George was a kind and gentle man with a big heart, who devoted his life to helping others. He was a ham radio operator, prepared to help in a disaster. His ham radio call letters were KAOAVX and later, WEGP. In a world before cell phones and satellites, he helped hundreds of desperate people find their loved ones in a disaster. George was also the neighborhood handyman who never charged for his work and even in the brutal winters of Missouri, would stop to help a stranded motorist long after it was safe to do so.
In his retirement, George continued to offer comfort to strangers in his work at Dignity Funeral Homes. In his leisure time, he enjoyed fishing, golf and dogs. A big bear of a man, he could be seen walking with his beloved miniature Yorkie, Max. Spending his final years enjoying the breeze from his 9th floor apartment at Pinecrest, he will be remembered for his unwavering kindness and friendly smile.
George left this world on December 7, 2025, He will be dearly missed by his family and friends, and the grief of this loss is deep. But comfort will be found in the knowledge that in his life, and in the memories and lessons he has left behind, the world is indeed a better place because of him.
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