Dennis Parks, a man of competitive spirit, and unwavering honesty, was born on April 28, 1954, and unfortunately parted ways with this world on December 14, 2024. Dennis lived a life full of love, passion, and unwavering faith. His memory will continue to shine brightly in the hearts of those he touched.

Dennis was born in Ft. Worth TX and adopted at birth by his loving parents Howard and Gerry Parks. Dennis often referred to his childhood as idyllic. He was an only child but stayed busy playing sports year-round. His family attended church and Sunday school regularly. The only time he could remember being disciplined as a child was when his mother would pinch him for not sitting still in church. So, having few challenges in his loving and supporting childhood, sports served as his self-challenging hill to climb. Dennis created his own challenges in life internally. For Dennis, it was always just about how to conquer the challenge of the moment in friendly games. Few were harder on Dennis than he was on himself for his errors in competition. Dennis was naturally athletic and excelled in many sports. One of his proudest moments was the time he was able to give his parents a gift of getting a full scholarship for college to play baseball.

 In addition to sports, his parents taught him, by their example, to always be polite to people around you. Playing baseball and pitching for Central State University, now known as UCO, brought Dennis to Oklahoma. It was then that Dennis moved north of the Red River and never moved back. He graduated from college in 1977 on the Deans Honor Roll with a bachelor’s degree in education. While Dennis was busy with his classes and baseball, he also took up the game of foosball. Dennis and his roommate would pay their rent and shared bills from an old mayonnaise jar stuffed with cash from winning local foosball tournaments. He made great friends with teammates in college that would stay in his mind and heart for the rest of his life.

A few years after college he married and had 2 sons, Matthew then Brian Parks. He finally then had another person in this world with his DNA. He once reflected that he didn’t realize how important that was to him until he became a father. Dennis was so proud to be Matt and Brian’s dad. Dennis was always a devoted father and provided calm patience for his boys. After his marriage ended and his boys moved to Tulsa with their mother, Dennis traveled to get his boys two weekends each month. He often spoke about the trip back from taking them home as the longest, loneliest drives of his life. He remained single, continued to work as an office manager and/or dispatcher for several oil and gas companies. He enjoyed playing poker with his buddies and feverishly supported his beloved Dallas Cowboys football team.

He and his wife Kelli dated for several years before marrying in March of 2000. His stepchildren: Jason and Jennifer, along with his boys several weekends a month, kept him and his wife Kelli very busy. Together, they coached their daughter’s basketball team for many seasons and made many friends along the way. Dennis, and eventually Kelli, trained employees for the technical support and billing departments for DirecTV for 16 years. Dennis was singled out on many occasions as being the most respected and knowledgeable trainer on staff. In the 16 years with the company, he was promoted numerous times but only interviewed on the day he was hired. Management would come to him and offer the promotions without Dennis haven sought them out. Which turned out to be very beneficial because Dennis was not good at self-promoting. When his current location in Moore, Oklahoma closed, Dennis returned to dispatching when a former gas hauling company contacted him to return for the last years of his working career.

Around 10 years before his passing, Dennis used an ancestry databank and discovered his biological parents and 3 siblings. His parents, James Winningham and Dorothy Veach had already passed away, but Dennis was able to have a wonderful relationship with his two brothers Gary Beaty and Jim Parker. In the final week of Dennis’ life, his elder brother Gary came up from the Ft. Worth area to visit Dennis at the hospital. Sadly, on his way home, Gary succumbed to a massive stroke. Dennis passed away the morning of his brother’s funeral a few days later. As a brother, son, husband, father and Grampa to 6 grandkids, he loved his family dearly and never failed to express his love openly to them.

Dennis was a devoted and loving husband to his wife, Kelli Parks. He is survived by her, leaving a void that can never be filled. After his retirement, they sold their home, bought a new truck and travel trailer and set off on a 4-year adventure around the country. These wonderful memories will remain in her heart forever. Dennis Parks will forever be remembered for his compassion, and competitive spirit and his devoted love for his wife and family. He always behaved with kindness at first unless or until it became unearned. Dennis was a very honest man. He rarely lied because it was just too much work to lie. He lived by example and behaved in a way that was genuine and kind with people. Then, he believed, if they don’t like you, it’s their fault. No pretense, always reliable, unapologizing genuine, regardless whom he was with throughout his life. What a beautiful legacy to leave in this world?           Dennis will be sorely missed, but his spirit will continue to inspire those who knew him.

On April 13, 2025, at 2:00pm, a Celebration of Life for Dennis will be held at 900 Asp Ave in Norman, Oklahoma. It will be a platform where we can pay respects and remember him for the remarkable man that he was.

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