Nunda --- Lois “Billy” Nancy Parker, a former resident of
Nunda and East Bloomfield, died Sunday, March 22, 2020 in Cuba Memorial
Hospital, Cuba. She was born on January 20, 1928 in Nunda, a daughter of the
late Howard and Gertrude Henry Parker.
Lois was a life member of St. John’s Episcopal Church where
she was baptized on April 20, 1935. She was a graduate of Mt. Morris High
School, class of 1945, and in 1952 she graduated from the State University
Teacher’s College in Geneseo. She was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society
and the International Honor Society for Women Educators which Eleanor Roosevelt
was also a member.
After college Lois taught at Rushford Central School for
four years and then taught at Bloomfield Central School for 31 years until her
retirement.
Lois enjoyed gardening, walking and collecting Hummel
figurines.
Surviving are a nephew, Charles (Ginger) Bliss of Rushford,
two nieces, Rebecca (Harry) Price of Olean, Carol (Larry) Mueller of Rushford
and several great and great-great nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents she was predeceased by a sister,
Onnolee Bliss.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there will be no visitation. A
private funeral service will be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at the
Kopler-Williams Funeral Home, 21 N. Genesee Street, Fillmore. Kim Rossi, pastor
of St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Olean, will officiate. Burial will be in
White Cemetery, Rushford.
Funeral services for Lois will be streamed on the funeral
home’s Facebook page and website.
Memorials if desired to: Rushford Free Library, PO Box 8,
Rushford, NY 14777.
The following is what a colleague wrote about Lois when she
left Bloomfield Central School:
LOIS PARKER
Gardener, Carpenter, Scientist, Perfectionist,
Professional in every way:
Lois Parker spent her childhood days in Mt. Morris, New
York. She graduated from Mt. Morris Central School. The decision to become a nurse was not
difficult for Lois since she enjoyed helping others. She entered nurse’s
training at Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo, but, after observing a few
autopsies and operations, and spending many hours on her feet, decided there
must be an easier way to make a living. It was then that she decided to enter
teaching.
At that time Lois entered the State University Teacher’s
College at Geneseo. Lois graduated from Geneseo in 1952, with a Bachelor of
Science Degree in Elementary Education. She taught at Rushford, New York for 4
years, and then came to Bloomfield Central School where she taught 31 years.
During those years, Lois attended graduate school at Geneseo and participated
in many workshops and conferences. Lois was very active in school affairs
serving as curriculum council representative for her grade level for many
years. In addition, she actively participated in the Bloomfield Professional
Education Association in various capacities on committees and executive
council.
Lois was one of two girls in her family. Her father was
very fond of her and thought of her as the boy he didn’t have. That’s how she
earned the nickname “Billy”. Lois shared his love of the outdoors and learned
to hunt, garden and operate a saw so she could help with projects around the
house. Science has always been one of her loves. For years she has been able to
hold the interest of all of the 5th graders who entered her room.
One of Lois’s secret desires had always been to go for a
ride in a hot air balloon. When a balloon came to Bloomfield as part of a
reading promotion, one of the teachers arranged for Lois to go for that ride.
We remember well the day the Principal, Lance Pfluke, and Lois floated away
into the “wild blue yonder”. We all prayed for Lois’s safe return.
Among her hobbies are gardening, walking, and collecting
Hummels. Lois is quiet, and disallowed a retirement party in her honor.
However, her local education association, as is its custom, presented her with
a gift certificate for Hummels in November of 1987 that shows, we think, the
great esteem in which she was held by her colleagues. Since her retirement,
Lois has been dividing her time between her apartment in Holcomb, New York and
her mother’s home in Nunda. She plans to travel abroad in the spring.
Lois is greatly missed at Bloomfield. As a former 5th
grade student said, “Miss Parker was a very caring person. She understood when
you had a problem.” As one teacher summed it up, “Without Lois, I no longer
have a model to look up to.”
