Charles Parker Sr. | The obituaries

NORFOLK — Services for Charles A. “Charlie” Parker Sr., 87, of Norfolk will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 23, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Norfolk with the Rev. Randy Rasmussen officiating. The funeral will take place on Thursday at 3 pm, at the Pleasant View Cemetery, rural Winside.

Visitation will be held Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Stonacek Funeral Chapel in Norfolk.

Charles Parker Sr. died Friday, May 17, 2024, at his residence in Norfolk.

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Charlie was born to Lee and Mathilda (Bentjen) Parker on October 27, 1936, in Eugene, Ore. He grew up in Noti, Ore. and attended school in Walton and one year of high school in Elmira before moving to Wakefield, where he graduated from Wakefield High School in 1955.

On November 15, 1957, Charles married Colleen “Koko” Barg in Ponca. They made their home in Wakefield where two sons were born: Charles Jr. “Rusty” and Bradley. They lived in several communities in the area before moving to Norfolk, where daughter Teresa was born. In 1964 they moved to Hadar before purchasing their home in Woodland Park in 1970.

As a child, Charlie raised and sold rabbits and remembers working in a large bean field during his years in Oregon. At the age of 19, he started driving a truck, hauling livestock and worked for a few years for farmers in the Wakefield area, but spent most of his years as a truck driver until his retirement in 2004.

Charlie was a long-time member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Norfolk and will certainly be missed in his regular area. He enjoyed working with wood, completing many types of projects, large and small, for their home and family members. He also enjoyed gardening, mudslinging and going to his grandchildren’s programs and music concerts. He was very proud to see and hear about his great-grandchildren’s achievements.

Surviving are his children, Charles Jr. “Rusty” (Jeanette) Parker of Norfolk, Brad (Jan) Parker of Yankton and Teresa (Vince) Knight of Norfolk; grandchildren Chris (Prairie) Parker of Tilden, Alicia (Neil) Langgaard of Omaha, Bryson (Kenna) Parker of Hoskins and Stacy (Dustin) Heino of Glenwood, Iowa, Amanda (Andrew) Oines of Harrisburg, SD, Alyssa (Tyler) Steinkraus of Plainview, Ashley Knight and fiance Ethan Teply of Lincoln; great-grandchildren Madison, Cole, Rowan, Zane, Connor, Landon, James, Benjamin and Oliver; siblings Donna Belitz, Bob (Joyce) Parker, Diana (Dave) Krause and Dennis Parker; in-laws Judy (Dick) Danielson, Reta Rhodes, Sherry (ed.) Green and Marcia Barg; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Colleen in 2019; brother Dale and sister-in-law Lois Parker; and brothers-in-law Ramon Belitz, Bob Barg and Earl Rhodes.

Pallbearers will be Dustin Heino, Andrew Oines, Chris Parker, Bryson Parker, Neil Langgaard and Tyler Steinkraus.

Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.stonaeckfuneralchapel.com.