Dorothy Georgina Parker

Parker: Dorothy Georgina Parker passed away at Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, SK on September27, 2023 at the age of 88 years. Dorothy is lovingly remembered by: her children, Donald (Judy) Parker, Marie (Raymond) Beek, Betty (Mason) Eyben; daughter-in-law, Wendy Parker; grandchildren, Jody (Brian) Heidmiller, Bradly (Colleen) Parker, Kevin (Erin) Beek, Kyle Parker, Lisa (Mitch) Wahlberg, Amy (Jesse) Gamble: great grandchildren, Kylie, Adam, Emily, Kaitlin, Kaidyn, Karter, Jaxon, Ali and baby Gamble on the way; and numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends. Dorothy is predeceased by: her husband, William; son, Raymond; and her siblings, Joe Hay and Kathleen Flaman. The Funeral Service for Dorothy was conducted from Kitscoty Community Hall, Kitscoty, AB on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm with Carol Morhbutter officiating. If you were unable to attend in person, you may view the recording of the service posted on McCaw Funeral Service website under Dorothy’s obituary. Donations in memory of Dorothy may be made to the donor’s charity of choice. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy Dorothy Georgina Hay was born on January 21, 1935. She was the first born to Margaret and John Hay of the Kinnard district south of Kitscoty. Her brother Joseph and sister Kathleen, completed the family. She attended the one room school at Kinnard for grades 1 thru 8, and then completed Grades 9 and 10 in Kitscoty. After finishing Grade 10 she worked at Matheson’s Groceteria in Lloydminster. On June 30, 1953 Dorothy married William Parker and moved to the farm six miles south of Kitscoty. There they raised 4 children, Donald, Marie, Raymond and Betty. Dorothy loved the farm life, and always grew a big garden every year. She worked alongside Willie on the farm, hauling grain, making meals, running for parts, moving cattle, as well as kept the yard work up, walking behind the push mower to mow the grass around the house yard, which gave her lots of exercise! Dorothy and Willie took up curling in their 30’s. First in Blackfoot on natural ice, then into Lloydminster and Kitscoty where the season was extended, as those rinks had artificial ice. They soon became part of the curling family in the Blackfoot, Lloydminster and Kitscoty communities, and made many friends along the way. Curling became a family sport, as all the kids became involved and learned to curl at a young age. Dorothy and Willie were active in the Thomasville community, attending old time dances, card parties, Christmas concerts, pie walks, bingos, wedding showers, and celebrating milestone anniversaries for couples in the community. Dorothy loved to sew, and sewed clothes for the kids when they were young, along with patching the knees on many pairs of pants! Later on, she sewed graduation and bridesmaid dresses for the girls, as well as she sewed their wedding gowns. She also loved to knit and crochet and made many mitts, afghans and scrubbies for all family members. For many years Dorothy donated many hand made items to the Dr. Cooke Auxiliary for their Tea and Bizarre held twice a year, along with volunteering there in whatever capacity she was needed. Dorothy could always put a meal together at a drop of a hat, for whoever happen to be there at meal time! Special times were Sundays when her sister Kathleen and family came to visit, or when the Heath family came to visit. Other special times were the Christmas Day and New Years Day meals with the Paul families, which were upwards of 25-30 people. As the families grew larger every year, and their homes didn’t, both Edith and Dorothy knew that the time had come to end this long time tradition. Once the kids had grown, Dorothy and Willie took more vacations, often with friends from the community, or with Dorothy’s sister Kathleen and husband Ken. Over the years they enjoyed vacations to Hawaii, Disneyland, Tijuana, Alaska, Texas, went on cruises, and to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, just to name a few. Dorothy belonged to the Kitscoty Forresters Court Lady K, along with neighbors and friends from the area. With this group she enjoyed attending meetings and get togethers, and participated in some Forrester curling bonspiels, meeting fellow Forresters from across the province and western Canada. In her 50’s Dorothy took up golf, and thoroughly enjoyed the sport. In the late 1980’s Dorothy and Willie decided to try the Snowbird life, and found a place in Apache Junction, Arizona. There they met many new people, and made some life long friends. They enjoyed golfing there, as well as touring around Arizona seeing the sites. They spent the winter months there for 13 years together, until Willie’s passing in October, 2004. Dorothy continued to go south for another 16 years, with Raymond and Wendy driving her there and back. She was looking forward to making her 30 year milestone, however Covid hit and she couldn’t go. In 2012 Dorothy moved from the farm into a suite at Hearthstone Place in Lloydminster, where she resided until her passing. She loved living at Hearthstone, and again made many new friends there, as well as was re-connected with friends from the surrounding area, that now resided there. She enjoyed playing cards, and other games and activities in the evenings at Hearthstone, with a special group of ladies there. She also enjoyed the monthly dances celebrating the birthdays and anniversaries within each month. Over the years, along with fellow knitters at Hearthstone, Dorothy knit and donated dozens and dozens of mittens to decorate the Hearthstone Christmas tree, which would later be given to a charitable organization to distribute to those in need. While going through some pictures for the slide presentation, it was noted that there weren’t too many pictures with Dorothy in them, we guess it’s likely because she was usually the one behind the camera! Dorothy liked to take pictures and videos, to capture the moments and memories. The music that accompanies the slide show was by the Soft Tones from southern Alberta, one of Dorothy’s favorite old time music bands. Card of Thanks The family wishes to thank their family and friends who showed support during this time, with messages, phone calls, flowers, food, cards, donations, and other expressions of sympathy. Thank you to the 3rd Floor staff at the Lloydminster Hospital for their care and compassion for Dorothy. Thank you to McCaw Funeral Service for their professional assistance with the arrangements. Thank you to the pallbearers, to Sandra and George for delivering the eulogy, to Carol Morhbutter for officiating the service, and to Donna Burke and staff for the lunch. Many thanks to everyone who attended the service for Dorothy. In lieu of thank you cards, a donation will be made to the Hearthstone Place – Life Enrichment program. The Parker families