Marketing, PR exec met illness with grace
Even as devastating illness beset her, marketing and public relations executive Andrea Parks put her poise and powers of persuasion to good use. "When she could no longer work, she got active in the local multiple sclerosis society. They immediately recruited her to travel to Washington to lobby for various issues," said her husband, veteran Dallas Morning News journalist Scott Parks. Ms. Parks, of Richardson, died Friday from the effects of multiple sclerosis. She was 47. Debilitating as the disease was, Ms. Parks faced it with grace and good humor. "I remember only two times that she showed any self-pity over her illness," Mr. Parks said. "It was remarkable. It was truly remarkable." If anything, her sense of gratitude and good humor seemed to grow even as her physical abilities diminished. "She expressed appreciation for the slightest things anyone did for her," Mr. Parks said. "She laughed at everything," said her 16-year-old son, Cameron. "She was a good audience to have." A memorial service is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Restland Funeral Home's Wildwood Chapel. Ms. Parks was born in Charleston, S.C., and reared in North Carolina, where her father was a professor at Wake Forest University and Davidson College. "She personified a graceful, dignified Southern woman," Mr. Parks said. The family moved to Westfield, Mass., when Ms. Parks was a teenager, and she graduated from Westfield High School in 1977. She attended Wake Forest University and graduated with a degree in history in 1981. Ms. Parks worked locally as director of marketing for Zale Corp. and as a communications specialist for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. She had previously held similar positions at universities, a bank and a hospital in other states and was active in the Public Relations Society of America. Successful as she was in that career, her first love was journalism. She landed a television-reporting job just out of college. But her first husband was a football coach, and she gave up journalism to accommodate the frequent moves in that career. "She always expressed regret about leaving news," Mr. Parks said. Later, even as she battled multiple sclerosis, Ms. Parks returned to her love by joining the Garland News as a reporter. Her family sometimes joked that she twice gave life to son Cameron. When he was 4, he sneaked outside on a wintry day and began to ride his new tricycle around the family's swimming pool. His mother was recovering from an MS attack at the time. "Andrea glanced outside and saw his tricycle hanging on the edge of the pool," Mr. Parks said. "Then she looked and saw a dark object on the bottom of the pool." Her high school job as a lifeguard paid off as she dived into the pool and revived her unconscious son with CPR. That experience, coupled with her public relations skills, turned Ms. Parks into a powerful spokeswoman for pool safety. Her account of the near-tragedy became a cover story for Parents magazine. As her multiple sclerosis worsened, Ms. Parks used her remaining strength to advocate for stem cell research, hoping to spare others from the 12-year ordeal she suffered. "On her trips to Washington, she zipped around the Capitol in a motorized scooter, calling on the offices of Congress members," Mr. Parks said. "She was so poised and gracious that she was really effective." In addition to her husband and son, other survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth Freeman of Lexington, S.C.; two other sons, Hunter Parks of Long Island, N.Y., and Keller Parks of Richardson; her mother, Lieta Marrotte of Westfield, Mass.; a brother, Nelson "Sandy" Marrotte of Plymouth, N.H.; three nephews; and two nieces. In keeping with her wishes, Ms. Parks' ashes will be scattered in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
Published by The Dallas Morning News on Tue 5 Sep 2006
Even as devastating illness beset her, marketing and public relations executive Andrea Parks put her poise and powers of persuasion to good use. "When she could no longer work, she got active in the local multiple sclerosis society. They immediately recruited her to travel to Washington to lobby for various issues," said her husband, veteran Dallas Morning News journalist Scott Parks. Ms. Parks, of Richardson, died Friday from the effects of multiple sclerosis. She was 47. Debilitating as the disease was, Ms. Parks faced it with grace and good humor. "I remember only two times that she showed any self-pity over her illness," Mr. Parks said. "It was remarkable. It was truly remarkable." If anything, her sense of gratitude and good humor seemed to grow even as her physical abilities diminished. "She expressed appreciation for the slightest things anyone did for her," Mr. Parks said. "She laughed at everything," said her 16-year-old son, Cameron. "She was a good audience to have." A memorial service is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Restland Funeral Home's Wildwood Chapel. Ms. Parks was born in Charleston, S.C., and reared in North Carolina, where her father was a professor at Wake Forest University and Davidson College. "She personified a graceful, dignified Southern woman," Mr. Parks said. The family moved to Westfield, Mass., when Ms. Parks was a teenager, and she graduated from Westfield High School in 1977. She attended Wake Forest University and graduated with a degree in history in 1981. Ms. Parks worked locally as director of marketing for Zale Corp. and as a communications specialist for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. She had previously held similar positions at universities, a bank and a hospital in other states and was active in the Public Relations Society of America. Successful as she was in that career, her first love was journalism. She landed a television-reporting job just out of college. But her first husband was a football coach, and she gave up journalism to accommodate the frequent moves in that career. "She always expressed regret about leaving news," Mr. Parks said. Later, even as she battled multiple sclerosis, Ms. Parks returned to her love by joining the Garland News as a reporter. Her family sometimes joked that she twice gave life to son Cameron. When he was 4, he sneaked outside on a wintry day and began to ride his new tricycle around the family's swimming pool. His mother was recovering from an MS attack at the time. "Andrea glanced outside and saw his tricycle hanging on the edge of the pool," Mr. Parks said. "Then she looked and saw a dark object on the bottom of the pool." Her high school job as a lifeguard paid off as she dived into the pool and revived her unconscious son with CPR. That experience, coupled with her public relations skills, turned Ms. Parks into a powerful spokeswoman for pool safety. Her account of the near-tragedy became a cover story for Parents magazine. As her multiple sclerosis worsened, Ms. Parks used her remaining strength to advocate for stem cell research, hoping to spare others from the 12-year ordeal she suffered. "On her trips to Washington, she zipped around the Capitol in a motorized scooter, calling on the offices of Congress members," Mr. Parks said. "She was so poised and gracious that she was really effective." In addition to her husband and son, other survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth Freeman of Lexington, S.C.; two other sons, Hunter Parks of Long Island, N.Y., and Keller Parks of Richardson; her mother, Lieta Marrotte of Westfield, Mass.; a brother, Nelson "Sandy" Marrotte of Plymouth, N.H.; three nephews; and two nieces. In keeping with her wishes, Ms. Parks' ashes will be scattered in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
Published by The Dallas Morning News on Tue 5 Sep 2006
Marketing, PR exec met illness with grace
Even as devastating illness beset her, marketing and public relations executive Andrea Parks put her poise and powers of persuasion to good use. "When she could no longer work, she got active in the local multiple sclerosis society. They immediately recruited her to travel to Washington to lobby for various issues," said her husband, veteran Dallas Morning News journalist Scott Parks. Ms. Parks, of Richardson, died Friday from the effects of multiple sclerosis. She was 47. Debilitating as the disease was, Ms. Parks faced it with grace and good humor. "I remember only two times that she showed any self-pity over her illness," Mr. Parks said. "It was remarkable. It was truly remarkable." If anything, her sense of gratitude and good humor seemed to grow even as her physical abilities diminished. "She expressed appreciation for the slightest things anyone did for her," Mr. Parks said. "She laughed at everything," said her 16-year-old son, Cameron. "She was a good audience to have." A memorial service is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Restland Funeral Home's Wildwood Chapel. Ms. Parks was born in Charleston, S.C., and reared in North Carolina, where her father was a professor at Wake Forest University and Davidson College. "She personified a graceful, dignified Southern woman," Mr. Parks said. The family moved to Westfield, Mass., when Ms. Parks was a teenager, and she graduated from Westfield High School in 1977. She attended Wake Forest University and graduated with a degree in history in 1981. Ms. Parks worked locally as director of marketing for Zale Corp. and as a communications specialist for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. She had previously held similar positions at universities, a bank and a hospital in other states and was active in the Public Relations Society of America. Successful as she was in that career, her first love was journalism. She landed a television-reporting job just out of college. But her first husband was a football coach, and she gave up journalism to accommodate the frequent moves in that career. "She always expressed regret about leaving news," Mr. Parks said. Later, even as she battled multiple sclerosis, Ms. Parks returned to her love by joining the Garland News as a reporter. Her family sometimes joked that she twice gave life to son Cameron. When he was 4, he sneaked outside on a wintry day and began to ride his new tricycle around the family's swimming pool. His mother was recovering from an MS attack at the time. "Andrea glanced outside and saw his tricycle hanging on the edge of the pool," Mr. Parks said. "Then she looked and saw a dark object on the bottom of the pool." Her high school job as a lifeguard paid off as she dived into the pool and revived her unconscious son with CPR. That experience, coupled with her public relations skills, turned Ms. Parks into a powerful spokeswoman for pool safety. Her account of the near-tragedy became a cover story for Parents magazine. As her multiple sclerosis worsened, Ms. Parks used her remaining strength to advocate for stem cell research, hoping to spare others from the 12-year ordeal she suffered. "On her trips to Washington, she zipped around the Capitol in a motorized scooter, calling on the offices of Congress members," Mr. Parks said. "She was so poised and gracious that she was really effective." In addition to her husband and son, other survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth Freeman of Lexington, S.C.; two other sons, Hunter Parks of Long Island, N.Y., and Keller Parks of Richardson; her mother, Lieta Marrotte of Westfield, Mass.; a brother, Nelson "Sandy" Marrotte of Plymouth, N.H.; three nephews; and two nieces. In keeping with her wishes, Ms. Parks' ashes will be scattered in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
Published by The Dallas Morning News on Tue 5 Sep 2006
Even as devastating illness beset her, marketing and public relations executive Andrea Parks put her poise and powers of persuasion to good use. "When she could no longer work, she got active in the local multiple sclerosis society. They immediately recruited her to travel to Washington to lobby for various issues," said her husband, veteran Dallas Morning News journalist Scott Parks. Ms. Parks, of Richardson, died Friday from the effects of multiple sclerosis. She was 47. Debilitating as the disease was, Ms. Parks faced it with grace and good humor. "I remember only two times that she showed any self-pity over her illness," Mr. Parks said. "It was remarkable. It was truly remarkable." If anything, her sense of gratitude and good humor seemed to grow even as her physical abilities diminished. "She expressed appreciation for the slightest things anyone did for her," Mr. Parks said. "She laughed at everything," said her 16-year-old son, Cameron. "She was a good audience to have." A memorial service is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Restland Funeral Home's Wildwood Chapel. Ms. Parks was born in Charleston, S.C., and reared in North Carolina, where her father was a professor at Wake Forest University and Davidson College. "She personified a graceful, dignified Southern woman," Mr. Parks said. The family moved to Westfield, Mass., when Ms. Parks was a teenager, and she graduated from Westfield High School in 1977. She attended Wake Forest University and graduated with a degree in history in 1981. Ms. Parks worked locally as director of marketing for Zale Corp. and as a communications specialist for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. She had previously held similar positions at universities, a bank and a hospital in other states and was active in the Public Relations Society of America. Successful as she was in that career, her first love was journalism. She landed a television-reporting job just out of college. But her first husband was a football coach, and she gave up journalism to accommodate the frequent moves in that career. "She always expressed regret about leaving news," Mr. Parks said. Later, even as she battled multiple sclerosis, Ms. Parks returned to her love by joining the Garland News as a reporter. Her family sometimes joked that she twice gave life to son Cameron. When he was 4, he sneaked outside on a wintry day and began to ride his new tricycle around the family's swimming pool. His mother was recovering from an MS attack at the time. "Andrea glanced outside and saw his tricycle hanging on the edge of the pool," Mr. Parks said. "Then she looked and saw a dark object on the bottom of the pool." Her high school job as a lifeguard paid off as she dived into the pool and revived her unconscious son with CPR. That experience, coupled with her public relations skills, turned Ms. Parks into a powerful spokeswoman for pool safety. Her account of the near-tragedy became a cover story for Parents magazine. As her multiple sclerosis worsened, Ms. Parks used her remaining strength to advocate for stem cell research, hoping to spare others from the 12-year ordeal she suffered. "On her trips to Washington, she zipped around the Capitol in a motorized scooter, calling on the offices of Congress members," Mr. Parks said. "She was so poised and gracious that she was really effective." In addition to her husband and son, other survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth Freeman of Lexington, S.C.; two other sons, Hunter Parks of Long Island, N.Y., and Keller Parks of Richardson; her mother, Lieta Marrotte of Westfield, Mass.; a brother, Nelson "Sandy" Marrotte of Plymouth, N.H.; three nephews; and two nieces. In keeping with her wishes, Ms. Parks' ashes will be scattered in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
Published by The Dallas Morning News on Tue 5 Sep 2006
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