Natalie Sparks

Born in 1943 in Detroit, Natalie was the daughter of Robert Kakstis and Natalia Potchynok. She graduated from Cass Technical High School and later earned an associate’s degree from Macomb Community College while working full-time at Ford Motor Company and raising two children. Natalie spent many years on the assembly line at Ford, where she met and eventually married the love of her life, Dennis Sparks. Her career at Ford not only provided for her family’s future—sending both children to Michigan State University—but also allowed her to indulge her love of life’s finer things: diamonds, gold jewelry, luxury cars, shoes, and shopping.

Natalie never met a stranger. With her statuesque beauty and warm personality, she had a gift for captivating a room and making friends wherever she went. A natural saleswoman with a boundless gift of gab, she built a longtime partnership and fast friendship with a jeweler that gave her yet another outlet for her love of diamonds and gold.

She was the OG cool mom—the parent the neighborhood kids on Albion Street turned to for advice or just to talk. She was Johnny Mathis and Robert Goulet, but also Bob Seger, AC/DC, and the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. Every morning on her way to the plant, she blasted the Gap Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.”

Natalie loved cruising in her pink Thunderbird with the T-top, always wearing her signature scent, White Shoulders. She was generous to a fault, cared fiercely for her family, and would give you the shirt off her back. Perhaps the only thing stronger than her devotion to her family was her love for her beloved dog, Tootsie Mae, a 4-pound Shih Tzu.

Natalie was a survivor, overcoming breast cancer and later melanoma, but she ultimately met her match in Parkinson’s Disease. She passed peacefully, receiving compassionate care at Avow Hospice House.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Natalia Kakstis; her brother, Robert Kakstis Jr.; and her husband, Dennis Sparks. She is survived by her son, Michael Worobec; daughter, Michelle Batten (Brent); and her “second daughter,” Mary Worobec. She also leaves behind her grandchildren, Cierra Worobec, Briana Campbell (Jake), and Zachary Batten; great-grandchildren, Ava Campbell and Landyn Bondy; and a large circle of extended family, friends, neighbors, and caregivers who loved her dearly.

She will be deeply missed and forever loved by those fortunate enough to have known her.

At Natalie’s request, no service will be held. A celebration of life may be scheduled at a later time. If you would like to honor her memory, please consider a donation to Avow Hospice of Naples or to your favorite animal welfare organization.