Maurine (Denny) Parks passed away peacefully under hospice care, on June 14, 2019, from her home at Bethesda Orchard Independent Living Community in St Louis, Missouri. She was 98 years of age and died in the company of her daughter, Donna, and her nieces Kay, Carolyn, and Cara.

Maurine was born at Oologah, Oklahoma, on July 14, 1920, daughter of Ervin Lafayette Denny and Bertha Emma (Marsh) Denny, pioneer residents of Oologah. Her grandparents, Christopher Columbus Denny and Mahulda (Wallen) Denny, had arrived in Indian Territory at Oologah in 1889.

During her school days at Oologah she was a devoted basketball player and was named “All Conference Forward” during her Senior Year. Maurine graduated from Oologah High School in 1937, at age 16. She was salutatorian of her graduating class and continued her education at Oklahoma A&M College in Stillwater, Oklahoma, majoring in Commercial Education.

In 1941 she was appointed as Deputy Court Clerk at the Rogers County Courthouse in Claremore, OK. During WWII she was Personnel Secretary for the duPont Company’s Oklahoma Ordinance Works in Pryor. After the war, she was secretary for the Sales Manager of American Airlines in Tulsa, then worked in the Traffic Department of the Frisco Railway in Tulsa. By 1957 she had met Donald Parks and the rest is history!

Maurine was married to Donald Richard Parks on March 14, 1958 at the Methodist Church in Claremore and their only daughter – Donna Kay – was born on March 25, 1959.

In 1962 Maurine returned to work in the business world, working in Personnel and Legal work until her retirement in 1981 from the Land and Lease Department of Williams Pipeline Company in Tulsa.

Maurine had five siblings: Lloyd Denny, Marvin Denny, Wayne Denny, Mildred Denny Colpitt, and Erma Lee Denny Kolb, all of whom are deceased.

She was an active member of P.E.O. for over 65 years, a founding member of the Oologah Historical Society, and a life long member of the United Methodist Church where she taught Sunday School for many years and was brave enough to be a choir mother.

During her 54 years of marriage, Maurine traveled to all fifty states and most National Parks in the company of her husband Don or one of her sisters. She and Don attended numerous Elderhostel classes from coast to coast, and spend many summers organizing Denny Family Reunions.

Maurine and Don moved to St. Louis in 2006 to be closer to their daughter, Donna. Don passed away in July 2012.

Maurine is survived by her daughter and son-in-law (Donna and Victor Ratkowski of Maplewood, MO), along with many beloved nieces, nephews, and a brother-in-law, Dick Kolb of Tulsa.

She has donated her body to science and her ashes will be interred with Donald Parks at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 27, at 11 a.m., at Christ Church UCC in Maplewood, Missouri. Later in the Fall, a gathering of friends and family will meet in Collinsville, Oklahoma, to celebrate Maurine’s life and share stories of laughter and love.

In lieu of flowers, Maurine has requested memorial contributions to the Oologah Historical Society, PO Box 185, Oologah, OK 74053