Eunice Viana Parks

Eunice Viana Parks passed away on September 13, 2023, at the Denver Hospice Center in Denver, Colorado.  Her death was the result of injuries she sustained from a fall, at her house on September 7’th.  She was life-flighted to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, where Neurologists determined that she suffered from a small Hemorrhagic stroke (brain bleed), which they believe caused the fall and the subsequent injuries.

Although she had lived in Wyoming for the better part of 40 plus years, she was a true Southern lady.  Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on November 30, 1936, she moved to Houston Texas around the age of six years old, where she remained until 1976.  She graduated from Pasadena High School in 1955 and went to work for the Prudential Insurance Company in 1956.  She was an avid sports fan, particularly the Louisiana State University football program and any sport that her son participated in.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, she ventured out on vacations that took her from Texas up through the Rocky Mountains into the state of Washington, to visit her older brother and his family.  Much like John Denver, she became enamored with the breathtaking beauty of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana & Idaho.  So much so, that in 1976, after 20 years at Prudential, she called it quits and relocated to Worland, Wyoming, where her younger brother and his family had moved just three years prior.  Switching from the hustle and bustle of 1.3 million people to a little town of 5,000 was ideal.

In Worland, Eunice was given the opportunity to start her second career, working for Charlie Bower and Phil Huber, at the local feedlot.  She spent another 20 years working with a cast of characters that she truly loved and enjoyed.  She was fortunate enough to get to witness round-ups, brandings, sheerings and even the occasional transportation of livestock to the pastures in spring and to the packing plants in the fall.

When she retired, she was living on a 2-3 acre parcel south of Worland.  This was her happy place.  She was surrounded by beautiful scenery, lots of birds, the occasional wildlife and a litter of feral cats, one of which she kept as a pet for almost 15 years.

In 2010, after her younger brother had relocated to Texas and her son had moved to Saratoga in 2005, Eunice decided that she had had enough of the snow and cold and moved back to Kerrville, Texas.  After six years, she realized that she didn’t want to be that far away from her son and daughter-in-law, so she moved to a little house just down the block from them in Saratoga.  This is where she remained until the accident on September 7’th.

Eunice is survived in death by her brother and sister-in-law, Gerald and Cheryl Parks of Leakey, Texas, her niece and her husband, John and Cherity Lamphear of Chicago, Illinois, her nephew and his wife, Randy and Heidi Parks of Spearfish, South Dakota and her son and daughter-in-law, Jerry and Sandi Parks of Saratoga, Wyoming.

Eunice requested to be cremated.  There will not be any formal services, however there will be a “Remembrance of Life” sometime in the summer of 2024 in Saratoga.  For information regarding this event, please feel free to email Jerry Parks at [email protected].