Connie K. Parks

Connie was born on May 26, 1938, to William Clay Martin and Blanche F. Martin (nee Eggleston) in St. Johns, Michigan and grew up in Ithaca, Michigan. In high school, she sang in the K Notes and was in the girls’ rifle club and was a very good shot. She got her golf prowess from her mother and played some of the boys on the golf team (and beat some of them!) but they wouldn’t let her be on the team. Her father had been a drummer, and she also wanted to play the drums in the high school band, but the music teacher said that drums weren’t for girls.

After Connie graduated from Ithaca High School, she went to Michigan State to study merchandising. She parlayed this knowledge into a lifelong flair for fashion and interior design. Many of her best finds were from the flea markets, yard sales and thrift stores that she scoured with devotion no matter where she was living or visiting (and all too often she dragged her daughters along too, thereby creating a second-generation of avid huntresses).

Connie made every house and apartment that she ever lived in (and there were many!) feel like a home. She probably could have had her own HGTV show long before that was a thing. She lived in Michigan, New Jersey, California, Montana, Utah, and Massachusetts. However, her heart always pined for her hometown of Ithaca and she often reminisced about visiting her grandparents farm, walking downtown to see a double feature for a nickel, going to the county fair, and all of the other things that added up to the small town feeling that she was never quite able to find anywhere else.

Connie loved to travel and was the queen of the road trip – she knew where the best biscuits and gravy were just outside Las Vegas and had a favorite stream to picnic by in Pennsylvania (she made a mean corn beef sandwich with pickles!). She made it to 49 states (sorry, Alaska) and saw some of Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean as well.

Connie played many roles during her lifetime. She was a daughter, wife, mother, girl scout leader, party hostess, champion packer, grandmother (they called her Nana), and friend. She loved to dress up for Halloween and parades; her costume trunk was a thing of wonder. She loved to dance, walk on the beach, go camping, play tennis, and she even took a belly dancing class once (pretty sure that was just because the costume was so awesome!). Connie couldn’t resist riding on a carousel --- loving the elusive challenge of reaching for that brass ring. She enjoyed going to films and museums, plays and concerts. She passed down her enduring passions for reading, art and learning to her girls, Rebecca and Suzanne. Connie’s sharp wit and love of a good pun will be greatly missed.

Connie is survived by her loving daughters, Rebecca Kamb and Suzanne Demarest, her three grandsons, Trey Kamb, Daniel Kamb, and Tanner Demarest, her brother, William (“Bill”) Martin, and sister-in-law, Barbara Green Martin, her niece, Michelle Martin, and nephew, Michael Martin, her aunt, Sylvia Martin and cousins Terrie Lynn Heydon and Amanda Gerhardt, as well as her dear friends, Katherine Moreman, Patricia Hirn, and Vicki and Dean Parling.

The family will hold a small, private memorial. In honor of Connie, the family hopes that you will stop at the next garage sale or flea market that you pass to score a deal on something whimsical or take a carousel ride and reach for that shiny brass ring!