This website is dedicated to the memory of Penny Parkes who died accidentally in her home on July 16, 2010.
We encourage you to submit a guestbook entry to share a memory or a story of Penny.
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Happy Birthday! With friend. Happy Birthday, again! With brother, Jamie.
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It is with great sadness that we announce that Penny died accidentally at her home. Beloved daughter of Murielle Fraser and the late John Parkes, dear sister of Deborah, Daniel (Mary), James, and Bill Nicholas (Lucille), cherished aunt to Jonathan, Christopher, Daniel, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Ayrton and Julia, Penny will also be missed by her step-father John Haberl, his former wife Margaret, and their children Richard, Peter, Joe, Louise, Christine and Andy and their families, and by Pearson, an 11-year-old neighbour whom Penny treasured. Born June 4, 1960 and raised in St. Lambert, Penny entered Kindergarten in the pioneer French immersion class that became a model for second-language learning internationally. She was a graduate of Bishop's University and Concordia University. She taught English as a Second Language and, while residing in Lennoxville some 15 years ago, was a volunteer tutor at Literacy in Action. In the early 1980s she was a live-in assistant at L'Arche community in France. She lived her last decades courageously, forever challenging herself to push beyond the physical pain and limitations of a severe and progressively worsening disability. A compassionate listener, generous and forgiving, Penny knew that our relationships with others are life's greatest gifts. A member of the Coopérative d'Habitation Sainte Famille in the Milton Park neighbourhood, Penny was currently studying in the Creative Writing program at Concordia. She was on the advisory committee of Action des Femmes Handicapées Montréal, and for the past two years was a board member of Santropol Roulant. A strong believer in the power of self-expression, just weeks ago Penny was beaming that she had found herself a private voice teacher. Unfortunately, she did not get the chance for a first lesson before she died. A celebration of Penny's life will be held July 31, 1:30 p.m., Montreal Unitarian Church, 5035 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. (Vendôme metro; wheelchair accessible.) Penny would wish any donations in her memory to go to Santropol Roulant. |