Robert Earl Parks

ROBERT EARL PARKS

Surrounded by family, Robert Earl Parks, a dentist in Fortuna for forty years, died in his home in Fortuna on August 30 after losing his battle with cancer. He was 74 years old.
Rob, who was born in Chicago, came to California with his family when he was around eight years old. He grew up in Berkeley where he attended St. Mary's High School. He was a good student and excelled in sports as well. He was captain of the football team. The family has a newspaper article in which his high school coach refers to him as "the team's leading pass receiver and one of the strongest blockers." He also played baseball at St. Mary's. After graduating from high school he turned down a full football scholarship at the University of Santa Clara and instead attended American College in Sacramento for two years so he could be closer to his girlfriend, Sue Copeland. He then transferred to UC Berkeley.
After graduating from UC Berkeley he went to dental school at the University of California at San Francisco. After graduating in 1970 he served in the army as a Captain and was posted at Fort Knox in Kentucky. Rob opposed the Vietnam War and after twenty months of active duty he applied for conscientious objector status, which he was granted. He returned to the Bay Area in 1972 where he practiced dentistry for three years before coming to Fortuna. At what was officially known as Robert Parks DDS General Dentistry, he provided warm and professional care for over forty years to several generations of Fortuna residents. Possessed of fine motor dexterity he could give painless injections, a skill his patients appreciated.
Rob married Sue Copeland, his high school sweetheart, after graduating from college and they had two sons, Toby and Tyler. They lived a happy and fulfilling life in Fortuna. Sue died of cancer in 2008. Three years later Rob married Zhao Ellis whose husband had died of cancer in 2008. They shared the sadness of losing a spouse and helped each other go through a process of healing. They also shared a love of travel, gardening, and meetings with friends.
Rob believed in helping others. He coached little league baseball for many years. Those who were on his teams still mention the strong and positive influence that he had on their young lives. He loved Mexico and for many years assisted Project Amigo, a program in a village called Cofradía de Suchitlán in Colima, Mexico. Project Amigo, founded by Ted Rose and Susan Hill, close friends of Rob's, helps disadvantaged children by providing education and material support. Rob sponsored students who could not afford to go to school and also spent time in Cofradia providing free dental treatment.
Rob was also a member of the group that in 1987 took a bus, known as "Big Yellow," from Arcata to Camoapa, Nicaragua to deliver medical and charitable donations.
Rob was on the board of the Northcoast Preparatory Academy and he and Zhao are contributors to the Betty Chinn Homeless Foundation. Rob's contribution to the Northcoast Regional Land Trust included a Conservation Easement for a wooded parcel he owned with his neighbors.
Rob was a spiritual person. He was raised and educated as a Catholic but explored readings of other spiritual leaders, especially Buddhist teachings about mindfulness. He was also influenced by the Indian Philosopher Sri Aurobindo. Rob believed one could live better by listening to those who are wise. Friends and family with him during his last days are aware that these spiritual leaders enabled Rob to accept his own mortality; and they helped him prepare those who loved him for his own death. Zhao and Rob enjoyed many deep and open discussions about the meaning of life and these discussions have helped her, she has told friends, to accept his death.
Rob also had a deep appreciation for beauty. He loved the beauty of the nasturtiums, the rhodies, and azaleas in his yard. Beauty, he wrote in a poem, "is a treasure we all would have but like a shy bird it must be approached with a calm and open heart—for its heart is also calm and open. Beauty is a mystery—a wonderful, joyful mystery."
Rob is survived by his wife, Zhao, and also by two sisters, Marilee Reynolds and Juanita Vivrette; and by his son Toby and Toby's wife Jenny and their children,
Sierra and Hannah and by his son Tyler and Tyler's wife Paula and their son Oliver.
In lieu of flowers contributions in Rob's name can be made to The Betty Chinn Homeless Foundation, 133 Seventh Street, Eureka, CA 95501; or to Hospice of Humboldt, 3327 Timber Fall Court, Eureka, CA 95503.707-267-5281