Jerry Louis Parks

Jerold Louis Parks, 87, of Indianapolis, IN, passed away peacefully on December 6, 2021.

Jerry was born on May 16, 1934 in Bloomington, IN, the son of the late Frank and Marie (Goodmon) Parks. He had fond memories of his childhood in Bloomington, particularly the time he spent with his cousins on their grandparents’ farm. It was during his grade school years the family moved to Indianapolis. Shortly after their move to Indianapolis he was baptized at Roberts Park Methodist Church. He attended IPS #46 Daniel Webster Elementary and graduated from George Washington High School in 1953 where he was a cadet sergeant in ROTC.

After graduating high school Jerry began his career in retail sales and management. Former co-workers and employees have shared how he was a fair supervisor who expected a lot from his employees but always treated them with respect. Over the years he had worked for Sargent Paints, William H Block, Sears, Vonnegut Hardware, Turn Style, Haag Drug, Peoples Drug and Walmart, from where he retired in 2007.

It was while working at Vonnegut Hardware on West Washington Street Jerry met the love of his life, Sue Fraker. She worked at Kroger in the same strip mall, and his employees shared that Jerry would make his way to the front windows of the store every day at lunch time to see her walk pass to visit her mother at the Huddle Restaurant. They had their first date in June of 1970 and were married on Halloween of that year, for which he always joked he got tricked and she got treated. They affectionately signed cards to each other as Hub and Wife, raised two children in the house Jerry grew up in, and were blissfully married until Sue’s passing in 1998.

Jerry started playing table tennis as a teenager. He was in the top three in the state for twenty years and had been the city parks champion in all events.

Jerry will be remembered for his dry humor, stubbornness, obsessive compulsive tendencies, light-hearted pranks, sweet tooth, and big heart. He was an avid baseball fan, the New York Yankees being his favorite team. He also enjoyed watching golf, tennis, and especially IU basketball and the NCAA basketball tournament. His love of dogs has been inherited by his family, as has his competitive streak when playing games, especially Euchre with neighbors. He typically ended his evenings sipping a coke, eating a cookie, and watching the Tonight Show while browsing the newspaper for the second or third time. Jerry was a good man who lived sensibly and took care of his family, them never needing for anything or doubting his love.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Marie; his wife, Sue; sister-in-law Sandy Buher, and his dogs Duchess, Spot, Patches, Gizmo, Ginger, and Pete the Great. His survivors include his son Jerold Parks and wife Kathy of Elk Grove Village, IL; daughter Angie Vandersteen and her husband Rick of Greenwood; daughter-in-law Tara Parks of Orion, IL; grandchildren Sami Parks, Drew Parks, Ricky Vandersteen, Ray Vandersteen, David Vandersteen, Eddie Vandersteen, Anastasia Parks, and Sophie Parks; brother-in-law David Fraker and wife Donna; sister-in-law Debbie Heflin and husband Ron; numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Monday, December 20^th from 10:00 a.m. until the funeral at 11:30 a.m. at Legacy Cremation and Funeral Services, 1604 W. Morris Street, Indianapolis. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Employee Appreciation Fund at Greenwood Village South, 295 Village Lane, Greenwood, IN 46143 in his memory.