Obituary
On Tuesday, January 16, 2018, this earthly world lost a beautiful, wonderful person, and a loving and caring mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She died suddenly during a hospitalization for a severe infection. Born August 17,1933 to Charles and Ruth Shrode (Jackson) in Evansville, Indiana, she grew up in IN, Ohio, Kansas City, and Arizona. She married the love of her life, Bobby Parks in 1951, living in Evansville until they moved first to St. Lois, Mo with the Chrysler Corporation and in 1970 they relocated to Ft. Myers.
In the early 1970’s Joan worked for a number of years as a Fort Myers News-Press carrier. As with everything she did, she took great pride in her delivery, ensuring every customer’s paper was exactly where s/he wanted it in the driveway. She later worked for the Lee County Tax Collector in the automobile area. After raising her children to adulthood, she went back to school in her late 40’s to pursue her lifelong passion of becoming a nurse. She graduated from Lee Vo-Tech LPN school in 1981 and worked for the next 25 years caring for newborns at Lee Memorial/Health Park and then for seriously ill babies in their homes as a Home Health nurse, working until she was 74 years old. She also spent a great deal of time caring for and nurturing her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She spent her retirement playing bingo and at the Page Park Community Center where she loved the many friends she made. She volunteered at Lee Memorial Hospital and served in the American Legion Auxiliary.
Her beloved husband, Bobby passed away in 1999. She is survived by two of her children and their spouses Denise (Jerry) Adema, Bobby (Starla) Parks; grandchildren Scotty (Lauren) Adema, Jeff (Jennifer) Munzlinger, Nakiema Wolfgram, and Blair Wolfe, and great-grandchildren Lucas Munzlinger, Ryan Adema, and Harleigh and Raven Wolfgram. She was preceded in death by her daughter Pamela Wolfe (Drummond).
There will be a celebration of her life on Wednesday Feb 7, 2018 at 1:30 PM at the Page Park Community Center, 507 Center Road, Ft. Myers, Fl. In lieu of flowers, if you would like to make a donation to either the Page Park Community Center or the Alzheimer’s Association at ALZ.org, the family will be very grateful.
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