John Parks

1927 - 2017

PARKS Dr. John, a Lexington psychiatrist, humanitarian and spiritual seeker has died. He often eschewed the conventions of his profession for the well being of his patients and humanity and sought to build bridges of understanding between people of differing cultures, ethnic backgrounds and religions. Dr. Parks courageously explored the depths of consciousness through meditation, prayer, study and the arts. He was a devout Muslim, husband and father. Dr. Parks died peacefully on his farm in Waco, Kentucky on December 13, 2017. As he was dying he was surrounded by family, his daughter and son, Ann and David, and by friends that he had made over a lifetime. His dying time was one of healing and life. He was 90 years old. Dr. Parks was born on September 2, 1927 in Boston to Floyd and Marian Parks. He grew up with his two brothers and his sister in Los Angeles. As a boy he kept chickens, earned his Eagle Scout award and ran track in High School. He graduated at the top of his High School class and began college at 16 at Dartmouth College. Following Dartmouth, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, he attended Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1950. His internship was at Hartford Hospital where he met his life partner, the head nurse on his floor, Elvira Sceggel. They were married in 1952. John had a rich and varied career as a physician. In the early 1950's he had a general practice serving the Tohono O'odham people of Southwestern and Central Arizona. As a doctor with the Public Health Service he convinced the government to build a hospital for the Tohono O'odham in the town of Sells. David was born while the young couple was in Arizona. Daughter Ann joined to complete the family in 1960. In 1955 John returned to Boston to begin his career in psychiatry. There he became interested in the movement to humanize psychiatric care. Later as a member of the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Medicine John worked to unlock psychiatric wards and pioneer group therapy as a psychotherapeutic technique. When John accepted a position in Kentucky in 1966 to develop community mental health centers, it was with the desire to bring mental health services to everyone. The Comprehensive Care Centers throughout the Commonwealth continue this mission to the present day. John's spiritual life occupied the center of his life and mission. For John spirituality found a profound focus when he met Swami Akhilananda the founder of the Vedanta Center at Boston University. Here he embraced his life as a spiritual undertaking serving God and humanity. He saw himself as a bridge builder between the world's great religious traditions, embracing his own spiritual search through a variety of traditional lenses: Hinduism, Christianity, and finally Islam. In Lexington, he was a founder of the Christian Muslim Dialogue group and the Spiritual Growth Network. After 9/11 John stepped into a new role acting, as he put it, "as a communicator between my Muslim friends and my fellow Americans." This is the high calling of building bridges. John's spiritual inclinations met his professional aspirations in Psychosynthesis, an integrative psycho/spiritual approach to human beings and their growth and development. He and colleagues founded the Kentucky Center for Psychosynthesis in 1974. John became an American pioneer in psychosynthesis and was acknowledged as such by his colleagues at an International Meeting in 2000 in Bologna, Italy. John Parks is survived by two brothers, Floyd Parks, Jr. and William Parks and a sister, Jeanne Werrell; a daughter, Ann, and a son, David. He had two grandchildren, Jonathan and Rebecca Parks-Ramage. He is preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Elvira, and his second wife, Kathleen. A Memorial Service in Celebration of John's life will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, KY at 3564 Clays Mill Road in Lexington, on May 5, beginning at 11:30 am.