Lora Parks - 1/9/26

As we gather today, we have a mix of emotions. On the one hand, we are grateful that Lora’s suffering is over. We are grateful that she has been delivered from a mind and body that had been failing her for quite some time. But on the other hand, we are saddened to see her go. We know that we will miss her and that the pain of her loss will continue to weigh heavily upon us in the days ahead. So today we want to walk a balance. We want to acknowledge our loss, but we also don’t want to lose sight of Lora’s life. She was a vibrant woman, whose spirit was infectious. We want to celebrate that fact today, even as we mourn.

Our comfort today comes from the truth that Jesus taught, that the end of this life is not the end of the story. Jesus told his disciples,

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1-3, NLT)

Jesus promised that there was life beyond this life. He promised that death in this life is not the end, but that those who die in Him will live eternally with Him in Heaven. Lora Parks clung to that truth. She knew Jesus as her Savior, and she did not fear death for that reason. Today, we find comfort in the fact that for those whose faith is in Christ, today is not “goodbye”, but “see you later.” As we celebrate and mourn today, may your grief be tempered by the hope that Lora had in Jesus.

Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, today we are grateful that Lora’s suffering is over. We are grateful that she didn’t have to experience the full depth of Alzheimer’s disease. We thank you that she was able to be herself even to the very end. But we must also admit that we grieve her loss today. We are saddened that we will not see her again in this life. So grant us your peace and comfort today as we remember. Help us to celebrate the life Lora had, and comfort us with the hope that is found only in Jesus. Surround us with your strength, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

SONG

Lora Jean Parks was born March 16, 1947 in Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of Maurice and Adra (Harrison) Shipley. On August 13, 1977 she married Bruce D. Parks at the Oak Street Baptist Church in Burlington, Iowa. He preceded her in death April 17, 2015.

Lora was raised in West Burlington and graduated from West Burlington High School. When her children were young she stayed home to raise her family and later returned to work at HyVee in Burlington. Lastly, she was employed at the Jackson Street Market in Macomb.

She enjoyed cooking, gardening, flowers, hummingbirds, and especially the time spent with her grandchildren. Lora will be remembered for all the lives she touched and the way she cared for everyone.

She died on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at The Elms in Macomb at the age of 78.

Survivors include two children: Jimmy Parks and Jena Parks; three step-children: Sonya (Scott) Quednow, Steve Parks and Troy Parks; seventeen grandchildren: Charity, Abby, Blake, Gabe, Bruce, Roxanne, Hunter, Danyel, Ciara, Drake, Dakota, Kiley, Kayoaina, Jemar, Lily, Reed, Charley and five siblings: Velma Johnson, Judy Coyle, Jim Shipley, Tom Shipley and Rhonda Miller.

Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by two step-sons: Rocky and Rick Parks and five siblings, Carolyn Herman, Nancy Moore, Otis Shipley, Johnny Shipley and Larry Shipley.

Lora Parks was a woman who was full of life. If you spent much time with her at all, you came to see her joy pretty quickly. She was a genuinely kind and loving person. I knew Lora for many years, but sometimes the way people behave in front of their pastor is different from the way they are everywhere else. So, I always find it interesting to hear from others in their life what people are really like. For Lora, there was not much to tell. She was pretty much the same person all the time. She was kind, sweet, and loving, and cared for the people around her.

As the kids were growing up, everyone was always welcome at the Parks home. Lora loved to have people over and to help them feel loved and cared for. Whether it was family gatherings or just the kids’ friends coming over, everyone knew they were welcome at Lora’s house. They also usually knew that they would be well-fed!

When her sister Rhonda worked at Hope Haven with people with intellectual disabilities, Lora invited them over to the house to fish and have a wiener roast. Some of those people still talk about that time over at the house today.

Even if the kids’ friends hadn’t been over to the house, most of them still knew Lora because she made it a point to be at everything, and she would often volunteer to help at the school. She would help kids in the hallway with reading or provide snacks for the room. I’m told just recently a classmate of Jimmy and Jena’s reached out to them to tell them she had always loved Lora’s Jell-O jigglers as a child but had never been able to get them as good as Lora did, even after many tries!

In her earlier years, she and Bruce loved the band scene. She loved going to see Bruce play, and they loved dancing together. She and Bruce had some good friends, Rich and Charlene, that they would often go out with. As a result, their kids became close as well. Eventually, Bruce stepped away from the band scene, and they did far less dancing than they once did.

The kids remarked that after their dad died, they saw a different side of their mom. Her humor and orneriness was suddenly put on full display. For many years, she had been consumed with trying to make sure Bruce was taken care of, and once she didn’t need to concern herself with that anymore, her playfulness and sassiness became much more evident.

Personally, I didn’t find that to be terribly surprising, because I can only imagine that living with Bruce Parks, you’d have to have a good sense of humor and quick wit, otherwise you wouldn’t survive long! Lora loved Bruce dearly and cared for him well throughout his illness. She made sure he was safe, well-fed, and got the care he needed. Though she would never complain about it, all those responsibilities surely did weigh on her. Though she grieved Bruce’s death deeply, as she came through that time, it was fun to see some life return to her.

She adored her grandkids. She did her best to get to as many of their events as she could, regardless of what they were. She was so proud of each of them and their accomplishments. When I would visit her, she would always regale me with stories of what they had been doing lately.

She loved having the grandkids over to the house. They played lots of games together; bingo and rummy were some of their favorites. They would also spend time outdoors. I know a favorite pastime was taking the BB gun out and walking around the pond looking for bullfrogs. The kids could do that for hours, and Lora never seemed hurried.

Hunting was an essential part of being in the Parks family. Bruce loved to hunt just about anything, so they would often go hunting as a family in the early years. As a result, the kids still enjoy hunting to this day. Lora did too. She always looked forward to shotgun season and enjoyed going out with the rest of the group. In the place where they hunt regularly, there is even a blind designated as “Lora’s Blind”, because everyone knew that was her spot. Even in recent years, as she was less physically able to hunt, they still took her out. They got her a chair and then put a pop-up blind down over the top of her!

I suspect that while Lora did enjoy the hunting aspect of things, she really enjoyed the camaraderie and time together with everyone outside.

Lora and Bruce spent most of their life living in Burlington, but eventually moved to Macomb. After they became Christians, they started attending Oak Street Baptist Church. But when they moved, they knew they were going to need to find a new place. They asked their pastor for a recommendation, and he mentioned that there was a church in La Harpe he had become familiar with through the radio. He told them they might want to check it out.

Bruce and Lora started attending here regularly not long after that and became members of the Union Church. Over the years, she became deeply attached to her church family, and they became attached to her as well. She and her family were so grateful for these people who loved her and looked out for her. She was determined to keep coming to church even after she maybe shouldn’t have continued to drive. I can recall more than one frantic phone call from Jena when we were trying to figure out exactly where Lora was on a Sunday afternoon.

Once she stopped driving and moved into assisted living, she was so grateful for the people (like Loyce and Becky Smith and Ken and Sharon Rauch) who would pick her up and bring her to church with them. She felt genuinely loved by her church family and was so grateful for them.

She often felt guilty that she couldn’t be more involved in some of the ministries of the church because she lived so far away. But she helped with our AWANA program for a time, serving as a listener for kids working on their memory verses. And she also often volunteered to make food for the youth groups. I always knew that when Lora signed up to cook for us, we were going to eat well that night!

As we were talking about her these last few days, we came to the conclusion that food was Lora’s love language. She enjoyed cooking, was good at it, and saw it as a way she could care for the people around her. It was central to most everything she did.

If there’s something that stands out about Lora Parks, however, it was the fact that she never wanted things to be about herself. She was always concerned with others. This made her a great person to be around, though it also made her a terrible patient! No matter what was going on, she would say, “I’m fine.” If she was in pain or was struggling, you usually didn’t know it. She didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.

Ultimately, I think that was her greatest concern about getting older. She had watched her sister die slowly from Alzheimer’s, and she was terrified that she would face the same fate. While she did deal with Alzheimer’s herself, she thankfully didn’t see the disease progress as far she feared it would. Lora continued to be herself right up to the end.

Lora’s legacy is that of a woman who was selfless in all she did. She truly saw and cared for others, and she wasn’t concerned about drawing attention to herself. This enabled her to be kind, loving, and present with everyone she met. That’s a rare quality, but it’s one Lora Parks had in spades. And it makes me grateful to have known her.

SONG

One of the things that is difficult about being at a funeral is that it forces us to face death. That’s not a particularly comfortable topic and therefore is something most of us avoid talking (or even thinking) about. But in the Bible, we read about a man named Solomon. He was the wisest man that ever lived because God had given him great insight. Despite his great wisdom, Solomon made many mistakes in his life. But much of what he wrote down to tell others came from his own experience. One such statement is this,

2 Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. 4 A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time. (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4, NLT)

Solomon says that it’s better to spend your time at funerals than parties. That certainly runs counter to the way most people think. Few people look forward funerals and most avoid thinking about death at all costs, because they find it depressing. But Solomon understood something most overlook—thinking about death has a way of helping us see what’s really important in life. It has a way of putting things into perspective.

You see, when we’re focusing only on having a good time, we tend to think only about the moment. It makes it easy for us to make foolish decisions and to avoid the things that really matter. But as we stand face to face with death, we are reminded that there are some things that matter, and a lot of things that don’t—especially when you think about it from an eternal perspective.

I always find it interesting to hear how people respond to death. There are some common phrases people say: they’re in a better place, their suffering is over, you’ll see them again one day. Each of these statements have an element of truth. But often, we say these things without thinking too much about them. Solomon reminds us that a funeral is a good time to take stock of what really matters in life and to evaluate our own lives, because death is something each of us will face—and we don’t know when it will be our turn.

As I mentioned earlier, I do indeed believe that Lora Parks is in a better place. I do believe she has been delivered from the pain and frailties that had plagued her for so long. And I do believe that I will see her again one day in Heaven. But I want to make sure that you understand the fullness of these truths, because they are important truths to grasp.

I believe Lora Parks is in Heaven today, but not because she was a good person. Most people assume that everyone goes to Heaven when they die. The Bible doesn’t teach that. On the contrary, what the Bible teaches us is that none of us deserves Heaven. We have all chosen to rebel against God’s commands, choosing instead to go our own way and do our own thing. God must punish such rebellion, therefore none of us deserves to be in Heaven with Him.

But the good news is that Jesus came to earth to live a perfect life and offer himself as a perfect sacrifice, paying the penalty of sin for everyone who believes in Him. And this is the important point. Only those who trust in and follow Jesus have their sin forgiven.

I firmly believe that Lora Parks understood this and trusted in Jesus and sought to follow Him in her life. As such, I have great confidence of where she is today. I also know that I share that same faith, and so I look forward to the day when I will see her once more in Heaven.

A funeral reminds us that we must each decide for ourselves how we will respond to Jesus. Not everyone goes to Heaven. Not everyone will be part of that great reunion. Only those who have chosen to embrace Jesus, trust in His sacrifice, and follow Him in the way they live their lives will do so. Many people will tell you that religion and faith are private things that ultimately don’t really matter much, but at a funeral, we come to see that those things are actually of ultimate importance. In the end, the only question that really matters is whether a person trusted Jesus for salvation or not.

At a funeral, we are reminded that it doesn’t matter how much money you made, how many people loved you, or what things you accomplished. Those things don’t ultimately last. What does last is faith in Jesus. My hope today (and I believe it would also be Lora’s) is that you would take seriously the questions of faith and consider where you stand with Jesus. These are not questions people like to think about, but wise people do—because as we see today, they are the questions that truly matter.

It is because of what Jesus has done for us that we can have confidence today, even as we grieve. If what Jesus says is true (and I believe wholeheartedly that it is), then we can grieve with hope, knowing that Lora is now with Jesus and is living life the way it was always intended to be lived. My hope is that you can find comfort in the reality of the gospel, and that Lora’s faith will drive you to examine your own.

SONG

As we conclude today, I want to draw some lessons from the life of Lora Parks that I hope will help us remember her and allow us to carry on her legacy.

1. People matter. It doesn’t matter whether they are people the world deems important and powerful or people others overlook—every one matters. Make time to see people, to care for them, and to show them they are loved, valuable, and important. You might be surprised at the impact you make on them.

2. Kindness is almost always the better course. It’s easier to lash out, but choosing to be kind, even when others aren’t, can defuse more situations than you’d think.

3. Believe it or not, “I’m fine” is not always the best answer to every question. Sometimes it’s ok to ask for help.

4. Loving others doesn’t have to be flashy. It can be as simple as listening to someone who needs an ear, giving someone a ride, checking in on someone in need, simply walking around the lake while they take shots at bullfrogs. Love is about giving of yourself to another, not about fancy gestures.

5. You can use your gifts to serve others. Lora was a great cook, and used that to care for the people around her. Cooking may or may not be your gift, but whatever your gift is, you can use it to impact others in a positive way.

6. Not everything in life is easy, but complaining about the hard times doesn’t usually do much to help you. It’s better to accept that hard times are part of life and not allow them to weigh you down.

7. Faith in Christ ultimately matters more than anything else. Following Jesus will guide you in this life and give you the confidence to face the life that is to come.

Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the life, the laughter, and the legacy left behind by Lora Parks. We thank you for the impact she made on each of us. And we thank you for the hope we can have, even in the midst of grief because of what Jesus has done for us. Lord, today we ask for your comfort and strength. We pray that you would help us to cling to the truth of the gospel in the times when life feels dark and hopeless. Help us in the times when we acutely feel Lora’s loss. Surround this family with your strength and your comfort, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.