Bruce Parks
CHESTER - Bruce Edward Parks, 78, of Chester, died peacefully on Monday, April 9, at home surrounded by his wife and three children.
Bruce was born to Edna Klemm Parks and Ira George Parks in Orange, NJ, on April 23, 1943. The family lived in Maplewood, NJ until Bruce was 7, when they moved to Denville, NJ. Bruce attended Denville schools and later in life became a member of several Denville school groups on social media. He graduated from Morris Hills Regional and one thing he enjoyed very much was playing trumpet and the French horn in all of the high school bands - orchestral, marching, he did it all.
He was accepted at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ, on a music scholarship, where he continued playing his horns and was also the editor of the student newspaper. He enjoyed writing and journalism and often wrote for the local newspapers, including the Morristown Record and the Denville Citizen. He earned his way through college and often joked about doing 41 part-time jobs, everything from driving a cab and limos to selling Christmas trees.
While he was earning his undergrad, Bruce joined the Denville Rescue Squad and enjoyed being of service to the town. He especially enjoyed marching in parades and frequently marched in costume as Smokey Bear. One of his first dates with his wife Kathryn was at a parade dressed as Smokey, where they walked down the street hand-in-paw.
He received his bachelor’s degree in 1965 and went on to complete his master’s degree in education at Kean University. His first job was teaching sixth grade at the Denville Elementary School, which he enjoyed thoroughly.
Kathryn and Bruce were married on August 20, 1966, at the Episcopal Church in Denville, NJ. Their first child Carolyn was born in April 1970. Shortly after Carolyn was born, the family moved to Sandyston-Walpack in northern New Jersey, where Bruce enjoyed having his own section of a trout stream running through the yard. Their son Evan was born in December 1973 and daughter Betsy (Elizabeth) was born in April 1976. Shortly after Betsy’s birth, the family moved north to Vermont, first shortly in Ludlow and then to their home on Main Street in Chester to the same house they own today.
Bruce was a longtime educator and spent many years as a nine-to-12 science teacher at Wilmington High School and later at Okemo Mountain School and the Springfield Parent-Child Center, covering subjects like general science, chemistry, biology, environmental science, and his favorite: meteorology. Bruce was a real weather geek - a member of the World Meteorological Society, attending many of their summer programs all around the United States and even attended the World Meteorological Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, with Kathy. He very much enjoyed the camaraderie of weather fans and even once had a walk-on on the Weather Channel during a conference. He was also a longtime member of the Vermont Science Teachers Association and the National Science Teachers Association and thoroughly enjoyed his time working with fellow science teachers throughout the state and country.
Bruce was truly a naturalist who enjoyed the beauty and wonder of the natural world. He was a lifetime trout fisherman and member of Trout Unlimited and a lifetime member of the Audubon Society. For several years he participated in Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count in Vermont. The family also had many backyard bird feeders and Bruce could identify any bird.
A true people person and the extrovert of the family, Bruce enjoyed meeting new people and made friends easily wherever he went. He was also very loyal, and was lifelong best friends with John Bowker, who he met in Denville when they were in the third grade. The pair took many fishing trips together as young men and later with their children and grandchildren on lakes, oceans, and rivers. They brought home as many stories - probably more - as they did fish.
Bruce was a true community-minded man and volunteered with many organizations during his life. He was one of the founders of the Chester Andover Family Center along with other members of the Unitarian Universalist Church and served on the board, helping with various tasks long into his retirement until his physical ailments prevented him from contributing. He also served as a board member of the Whiting Library.
During his time in Vermont, Bruce maintained his lifelong love of music and performed often with the local group, The Chester Brass. He enjoyed summer pilgrimages to Tanglewood to hear the Boston Symphony and other orchestral performances. The family all remembers attending Tanglewood together with lawn seats, falling asleep on blankets under the stars while the music played into the evening.
Bruce was preceded in death by his parents Ira and Edna Parks, of Denville, NJ. He is survived by his wife of 55 years Kathyrn (Kathy); his children Carolyn Parks (John Stocker), of Soquel, CA, Evan Parks, of Chester, and Betsy Parks, of Boston, MA; and his granddaughter Emma Cook, of San Luis Obispo, CA.
The family would like to thank Dr. Tim Schaeffer of Grace Cottage for his longtime care and support through the years and the Bayada nursing team for their wonderful hospice care at home.
A memorial service in celebration of Bruce’s life will be held at the First Universalist Parish of Chester, where Bruce was an active member, on Saturday, May 21, at 1 pm. A reception will follow, also at the church. Donations can be made in lieu of flowers to the Chester Andover Family Center in person or at https://www.chester-andoverfamilycenter.org.
