Rosemary Dawn Parks

“Love grows where my Rosemary goes”, this is exactly how you can describe Rosie. She went through life with a positive outlook and smile always gracing her sweet face; spreading kindness and love to all she crossed paths with. Rosemary Dawn Parks, 76, longtime Hampton resident, passed away Wednesday evening, June 23, 2021, at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, VA with both her daughters and sister by her side. Even in her final days, the nurses and staff all remarked how sweet and gentle she was, how she never had a cross word, and always had a smile. Born in Winchester, VA, on May 12, 1945, she was the youngest of three daughters of Rev. Albert and Constance Gingrich. She was a graduate of Franklin County High School, class of 1963, and a graduate of Western College for Women (now Miami University, Ohio), class of 1967, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Mathematics. She was very proud of her long career working in computer programming for both the cities of Hampton and Newport News, VA. She also used her love of numbers to build a thriving Tax business, C ME Taxes, which she continued to run until this year. After her official retirement in 2012, in true “BZBNME” Rosie fashion, she continued to volunteer for the Salvation Army, at the Pumpkin Patch at Wesley United Methodist Church, and even went back to work a few days a week as a concierge at The Chesapeake Retirement Community and loved every minute of it. She was fiercely independent and anyone who tried to slow Rosie down also knows how stubborn she could be. Rosie was also a member of the Wesley United Methodist Women and cherished her church family. Rosie had many talents! She was a whiz with numbers, she was a pocket poet, and was a very talented seamstress finding ways to incorporate this throughout her life. She sewed elaborate Halloween costumes for her girls (such as Rainbow and Starlight and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee), many formal dresses, college pillow/blankets for nieces and nephews, purses sold at craft fairs, decorative curtains, Halloween costumes for her little dogs, and many firsts for her grandson – his first nursery wall hanging (a zoo train), his first Halloween costume (it was a monkey), an advent calendar and his christening outfit made from the cloth of his ancestors’ christening outfits dating back to the 1800s. Rosie’s greatest love of all was her beautiful family. She adored her little Yorkie and Morkie, Sammy and Mika, but in her own words, her daughters “are the two most precious gifts in my life. I love them both with all of my heart and I want their happiness more than anything.” In later years, her grandson, Jordan, took first place as the apple of her eye. But her love and value of family began much earlier when she was just a child. Rosie learned that her heritage traced back all the way to the Mayflower and when learning about the settlers landing in Plymouth Bay it brought the story of her ancestors to life and her love of genealogy was born. Rosie did several reports at school and in her adult years self-published a teaching book titled “My Family Tree: An Introduction to Genealogy.” She also lovingly and carefully preserved and shared countless pieces of art and stories from her mother’s youth known as “The Little Pine Cone”, which was awarded an exhibit at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, VA in 1992. She was the youngest of three sisters, and “there were never such devoted sisters” as they used to sing at yearly Thanksgiving gatherings. The sisters worked hard to recreate “cousin camps” of their youth by bringing all the family together every year for Thanksgiving to the truly unique experience of Holy Land in Bedford, VA and summer vacations in Nags Head, NC. Life was filled with many road trips throughout the years to see family that was spread far and wide from California to Canada to the Carolinas, we hopped in the car and never missed a special occasion. There was always so much to fit in, which is probably why Rosie was perpetually late even though she set all her clocks somewhere between 10-20 minutes ahead of schedule to try to trick herself into hurrying up. These road trips and visits continued well into Rosie’s retirement with her becoming a true road warrior. She is preceded in death by her parents, Rev. Albert & Constance Gingrich and eldest sister, Priscilla Tabor. She is survived by her sister, Carol (Ken) Catron, daughters, Amber (Joe) Turek and Marissa Parks, and grandson, Jordan Verdugo, as well as several nieces and nephews. Rosie lived a mighty good life and we will be celebrating her life in a service to be held in late July at Wesley United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family is suggesting donations to be made in her honor to any of the following: - The Albert & Constance Gingrich Scholarship Fund, Ferrum College - VCU Health, North 5 - The American Kidney Fund We are all blessed to have Rosie as one of our angels and as one of her very own poems says, “Let her angel wings surround you In your travels near and far. If at times you are uncertain, Or when things don’t go your way, Keep this angel to remember GOD’s love…It’s here to stay” -Rosemary Parks, 1995 The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday, July 30, 2021 at Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home 2551 N. Armistead Ave Hampton, VA 23666. Services for Ms. Parks will be private. Friends are encouraged to visit www.parklawn-woodfh.com to share memories and offer condolences.