Esta V. ‘Val’ Parke; 20-Year County Resident
Esta Vermel “Val” Parke, a 20-year Ventura County resident, died at her home Tuesday after a brief illness. She was 84.
Parke was born Dec. 29, 1912, in Kinsley, Kan. She married Gene Parke when she was 21, and the couple moved to Ventura from Canoga Park in 1977.
Parke was a member of Ventura’s 4th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was an excellent seamstress and upholsterer and liked to paint and make ceramics, family members said.
“She was a very sweet lady,” said her grandson, Scott Kirkpatrick of Anchorage, Alaska. “She was very active in her church; her family meant a lot to her.”
In addition to her husband and grandson, Parke is survived by a son, Gary Eugene Parke of Allen, Texas; daughters Marcia Gail Kirkpatrick of Leavenworth, Wash.; Val Jean Phillips of Livonia, Mich., and Carol Lynn Jensen of Ojai; one brother, Dwain Blocher of Ukiah; 17 other grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ventura 4th Ward, with Bishop Gary Wilde officiating.
Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.
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