Amador County lost a true “Mother Hen” on 12/28/2020 with the passing of Joyce Ruth Parker.
Joyce was born on November 20,1930 to Leo and Wanda Walker in Placerville, California. She was a fifth-generation family member to be born in “Hangtown”. She grew up above Diamond Springs and attended and graduated from El Dorado High School in 1949. It was there she met and fell in love with Vernon Parker. The couple was married in January of 1950 and remained married for 63 years until Vernon’s death in 2012. They had two children: a daughter Penny, and a son Craig. Their first home was in Caldor where Vernon who was in the lumber industry worked. In 1959, with the sale of Caldor Lumber company to Winton Lumber Company in Martell, the family relocated to Sutter Creek where she resided the resto of her Life.
Joyce was active in many things; she started the first Girl Scout troop in Sutter Creek and was the Girl Scout Leader, a member of YLI, enthusiastic Little League mom, and Amador County High School Booster.
Early in her married life, she worked for Placerville Fruit Exchange, and after moving to Sutter Creek was hired in 1964 by Oro Madre Unified School District, was in charge of the cafeteria for Amador High School and Grammar School for over twenty years. She put her heart and soul into her work and was always trying to make sure the students had a well-balanced, nutritious meal each day because she often said, “it may be the only meal that some of the children get today”.
Joyce loved the outdoors and was always eager to go camping at Wrights Lake or Silver Lake where she enjoyed hiking, fishing, or playing horseshoes. She loved flowers of all kinds, and gardening was a passion for her. She took great pride in her roses, camellias, and daffodils and won many ribbons at the Amador and El Dorado County Fairs. She was an avid baseball fan, loved her Giants and A’s and even rooted for the Orioles! She was a wonderful team mom to many little league and senior little league teams, and she could talk baseball stats with the best of them!
Occasionally (or as often as she could talk Vernon into taking a ride), she loved to take a trip to Lake Tahoe to feed the one-armed bandits, and on those occasions when a slot machine would be generous and pay a jackpot, it was not uncommon to hear her yell out, “Vernon, I got another one!”. Most of the casino patrons got to know her pretty well at times!
Of all the things that Joyce enjoyed in life, family friends, and entertaining was at the top of her list of priorities. It was impossible to be at her home for over five minutes and not have her fixing you something to eat or drink. She worried about everyone she knew, was always quick to remember birthdays, anniversaries, or special events, and was truly a second mom to all of Penny and Craig’s friends.
During the last few years of her life, she lost the ability to be as mobile as she once was, and spent most of the time at home, but always looked forward to visits from friends and family. You could always count on an almost daily phone call from her to make sure you were ok if you were on her list.
On the evening of December 18th, she had a choking incident which caused her to briefly lose consciousness. Thanks to the quick actions of her caregiver and the prompt response from the EMT’s she was revived and taken to Sutter Amador for evaluation. It was there it was discovered she had pneumonia as well as kidney issues, which in spite of all the hospitals tremendous and tireless efforts proved to be her demise. She passed away at 1:00 PM on Monday December 28th.
Joyce is survived by her two children and their spouses, three grand grandchildren, and three great grandchildren who will all miss her greatly. The family wishes to deeply thank all the caregivers that worked with her diligently for over five years, the Doctors, Nurses, and EMT responders, and all her friends who looked after her over the years.
There will be no formal funeral service due to Covid-19. A private graveside service will be held for the family.
Joyce was born on November 20,1930 to Leo and Wanda Walker in Placerville, California. She was a fifth-generation family member to be born in “Hangtown”. She grew up above Diamond Springs and attended and graduated from El Dorado High School in 1949. It was there she met and fell in love with Vernon Parker. The couple was married in January of 1950 and remained married for 63 years until Vernon’s death in 2012. They had two children: a daughter Penny, and a son Craig. Their first home was in Caldor where Vernon who was in the lumber industry worked. In 1959, with the sale of Caldor Lumber company to Winton Lumber Company in Martell, the family relocated to Sutter Creek where she resided the resto of her Life.
Joyce was active in many things; she started the first Girl Scout troop in Sutter Creek and was the Girl Scout Leader, a member of YLI, enthusiastic Little League mom, and Amador County High School Booster.
Early in her married life, she worked for Placerville Fruit Exchange, and after moving to Sutter Creek was hired in 1964 by Oro Madre Unified School District, was in charge of the cafeteria for Amador High School and Grammar School for over twenty years. She put her heart and soul into her work and was always trying to make sure the students had a well-balanced, nutritious meal each day because she often said, “it may be the only meal that some of the children get today”.
Joyce loved the outdoors and was always eager to go camping at Wrights Lake or Silver Lake where she enjoyed hiking, fishing, or playing horseshoes. She loved flowers of all kinds, and gardening was a passion for her. She took great pride in her roses, camellias, and daffodils and won many ribbons at the Amador and El Dorado County Fairs. She was an avid baseball fan, loved her Giants and A’s and even rooted for the Orioles! She was a wonderful team mom to many little league and senior little league teams, and she could talk baseball stats with the best of them!
Occasionally (or as often as she could talk Vernon into taking a ride), she loved to take a trip to Lake Tahoe to feed the one-armed bandits, and on those occasions when a slot machine would be generous and pay a jackpot, it was not uncommon to hear her yell out, “Vernon, I got another one!”. Most of the casino patrons got to know her pretty well at times!
Of all the things that Joyce enjoyed in life, family friends, and entertaining was at the top of her list of priorities. It was impossible to be at her home for over five minutes and not have her fixing you something to eat or drink. She worried about everyone she knew, was always quick to remember birthdays, anniversaries, or special events, and was truly a second mom to all of Penny and Craig’s friends.
During the last few years of her life, she lost the ability to be as mobile as she once was, and spent most of the time at home, but always looked forward to visits from friends and family. You could always count on an almost daily phone call from her to make sure you were ok if you were on her list.
On the evening of December 18th, she had a choking incident which caused her to briefly lose consciousness. Thanks to the quick actions of her caregiver and the prompt response from the EMT’s she was revived and taken to Sutter Amador for evaluation. It was there it was discovered she had pneumonia as well as kidney issues, which in spite of all the hospitals tremendous and tireless efforts proved to be her demise. She passed away at 1:00 PM on Monday December 28th.
Joyce is survived by her two children and their spouses, three grand grandchildren, and three great grandchildren who will all miss her greatly. The family wishes to deeply thank all the caregivers that worked with her diligently for over five years, the Doctors, Nurses, and EMT responders, and all her friends who looked after her over the years.
There will be no formal funeral service due to Covid-19. A private graveside service will be held for the family.
Amador County lost a true “Mother Hen” on 12/28/2020 with the passing of Joyce Ruth Parker.
Joyce was born on November 20,1930 to Leo and Wanda Walker in Placerville, California. She was a fifth-generation family member to be born in “Hangtown”. She grew up above Diamond Springs and attended and graduated from El Dorado High School in 1949. It was there she met and fell in love with Vernon Parker. The couple was married in January of 1950 and remained married for 63 years until Vernon’s death in 2012. They had two children: a daughter Penny, and a son Craig. Their first home was in Caldor where Vernon who was in the lumber industry worked. In 1959, with the sale of Caldor Lumber company to Winton Lumber Company in Martell, the family relocated to Sutter Creek where she resided the resto of her Life.
Joyce was active in many things; she started the first Girl Scout troop in Sutter Creek and was the Girl Scout Leader, a member of YLI, enthusiastic Little League mom, and Amador County High School Booster.
Early in her married life, she worked for Placerville Fruit Exchange, and after moving to Sutter Creek was hired in 1964 by Oro Madre Unified School District, was in charge of the cafeteria for Amador High School and Grammar School for over twenty years. She put her heart and soul into her work and was always trying to make sure the students had a well-balanced, nutritious meal each day because she often said, “it may be the only meal that some of the children get today”.
Joyce loved the outdoors and was always eager to go camping at Wrights Lake or Silver Lake where she enjoyed hiking, fishing, or playing horseshoes. She loved flowers of all kinds, and gardening was a passion for her. She took great pride in her roses, camellias, and daffodils and won many ribbons at the Amador and El Dorado County Fairs. She was an avid baseball fan, loved her Giants and A’s and even rooted for the Orioles! She was a wonderful team mom to many little league and senior little league teams, and she could talk baseball stats with the best of them!
Occasionally (or as often as she could talk Vernon into taking a ride), she loved to take a trip to Lake Tahoe to feed the one-armed bandits, and on those occasions when a slot machine would be generous and pay a jackpot, it was not uncommon to hear her yell out, “Vernon, I got another one!”. Most of the casino patrons got to know her pretty well at times!
Of all the things that Joyce enjoyed in life, family friends, and entertaining was at the top of her list of priorities. It was impossible to be at her home for over five minutes and not have her fixing you something to eat or drink. She worried about everyone she knew, was always quick to remember birthdays, anniversaries, or special events, and was truly a second mom to all of Penny and Craig’s friends.
During the last few years of her life, she lost the ability to be as mobile as she once was, and spent most of the time at home, but always looked forward to visits from friends and family. You could always count on an almost daily phone call from her to make sure you were ok if you were on her list.
On the evening of December 18th, she had a choking incident which caused her to briefly lose consciousness. Thanks to the quick actions of her caregiver and the prompt response from the EMT’s she was revived and taken to Sutter Amador for evaluation. It was there it was discovered she had pneumonia as well as kidney issues, which in spite of all the hospitals tremendous and tireless efforts proved to be her demise. She passed away at 1:00 PM on Monday December 28th.
Joyce is survived by her two children and their spouses, three grand grandchildren, and three great grandchildren who will all miss her greatly. The family wishes to deeply thank all the caregivers that worked with her diligently for over five years, the Doctors, Nurses, and EMT responders, and all her friends who looked after her over the years.
There will be no formal funeral service due to Covid-19. A private graveside service will be held for the family.
Joyce was born on November 20,1930 to Leo and Wanda Walker in Placerville, California. She was a fifth-generation family member to be born in “Hangtown”. She grew up above Diamond Springs and attended and graduated from El Dorado High School in 1949. It was there she met and fell in love with Vernon Parker. The couple was married in January of 1950 and remained married for 63 years until Vernon’s death in 2012. They had two children: a daughter Penny, and a son Craig. Their first home was in Caldor where Vernon who was in the lumber industry worked. In 1959, with the sale of Caldor Lumber company to Winton Lumber Company in Martell, the family relocated to Sutter Creek where she resided the resto of her Life.
Joyce was active in many things; she started the first Girl Scout troop in Sutter Creek and was the Girl Scout Leader, a member of YLI, enthusiastic Little League mom, and Amador County High School Booster.
Early in her married life, she worked for Placerville Fruit Exchange, and after moving to Sutter Creek was hired in 1964 by Oro Madre Unified School District, was in charge of the cafeteria for Amador High School and Grammar School for over twenty years. She put her heart and soul into her work and was always trying to make sure the students had a well-balanced, nutritious meal each day because she often said, “it may be the only meal that some of the children get today”.
Joyce loved the outdoors and was always eager to go camping at Wrights Lake or Silver Lake where she enjoyed hiking, fishing, or playing horseshoes. She loved flowers of all kinds, and gardening was a passion for her. She took great pride in her roses, camellias, and daffodils and won many ribbons at the Amador and El Dorado County Fairs. She was an avid baseball fan, loved her Giants and A’s and even rooted for the Orioles! She was a wonderful team mom to many little league and senior little league teams, and she could talk baseball stats with the best of them!
Occasionally (or as often as she could talk Vernon into taking a ride), she loved to take a trip to Lake Tahoe to feed the one-armed bandits, and on those occasions when a slot machine would be generous and pay a jackpot, it was not uncommon to hear her yell out, “Vernon, I got another one!”. Most of the casino patrons got to know her pretty well at times!
Of all the things that Joyce enjoyed in life, family friends, and entertaining was at the top of her list of priorities. It was impossible to be at her home for over five minutes and not have her fixing you something to eat or drink. She worried about everyone she knew, was always quick to remember birthdays, anniversaries, or special events, and was truly a second mom to all of Penny and Craig’s friends.
During the last few years of her life, she lost the ability to be as mobile as she once was, and spent most of the time at home, but always looked forward to visits from friends and family. You could always count on an almost daily phone call from her to make sure you were ok if you were on her list.
On the evening of December 18th, she had a choking incident which caused her to briefly lose consciousness. Thanks to the quick actions of her caregiver and the prompt response from the EMT’s she was revived and taken to Sutter Amador for evaluation. It was there it was discovered she had pneumonia as well as kidney issues, which in spite of all the hospitals tremendous and tireless efforts proved to be her demise. She passed away at 1:00 PM on Monday December 28th.
Joyce is survived by her two children and their spouses, three grand grandchildren, and three great grandchildren who will all miss her greatly. The family wishes to deeply thank all the caregivers that worked with her diligently for over five years, the Doctors, Nurses, and EMT responders, and all her friends who looked after her over the years.
There will be no formal funeral service due to Covid-19. A private graveside service will be held for the family.
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