ST. TAMMANY PARISH, LA. 

Obituary for: PARKS, JOYCE BLACKWELL 

Submitted by: Louis Lavedan. 

Source: E.J. Fielding  Funeral Home, Covington, La.

Died: Friday, March 4, 2016

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PARKS, JOYCE BLACKWELL 
May 10, 1927 - March 4, 2016

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Joyce Parks, born Edna Marie Blackwell, on May 10, 1927 in Houston Texas, 
passed away peacefully on Friday, March 4, 2016 at 9:35 a.m. surrounded by her 
family at the Mandeville home she shared with Karla Mackey Parks and Thomas 
Carlton Parks, Sr., beloved daughter-in-law and son.

Joyce attended Lamar High School in Houston and Feather and Feather Art School, 
now The Art Institute of Houston. Upon graduation, she entered the field of 
advertising as a commercial artist designing billboard campaigns and album 
covers. She and her family moved to Mandeville in 1957 where she continued to 
express her artistic talent as a loving wife, mother and volunteer. 
She and her husband, Bill, built pirogues for local charity fundraisers. 
As an active member of the Mandeville school system PTA, Joyce served as set 
and costume designer for numerous theatrical productions in addition to acting 
as a substitute art teacher. She created the design used by the Krewe of Juno 
for their Mardi Gras doubloon. 
Additionally, Joyce was an avid gardener, an animal enthusiast and a self-
taught electrician/contractor. There was no dying plant she could not save; 
there was no animal that Bill brought home that she did not care for and love; 
and there was no home repair job that was too big. 

Joyce was a long time member of St. Timothy United Methodist Church and a 
volunteer at The Good Samaritan Center. 
After Bill's death in 1985, she worked at Citizens Bank and Trust for a short 
time before moving to Dillard’s Department Store where she was employed for 
twenty years, retiring at age 81. In her retirement, Joyce delighted in the 
company of her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.

Joyce, also lovingly referred to as Joycie, GM and Mamoo, is survived by her 
adoring children, Lorri Parks Mayhall (Van) of Baton Rouge, William Monroe 
Parks, Jr. (Lu-Ann) of Abita Springs, Charles Michael Parks (Julie) of 
Metairie, and Thomas Carlton Parks, Sr. (Karla) of Mandeville. 
The joys in “Mamoo’s” life included her eight grandchildren, Sunny Mayhall West 
(Hampton), Ann Walthall Booth (Kevin), William M. Parks, III (fiancée Catherine 
Kidd), Benjamin Michael Parks, Luke Owen Parks, Mary Grace Parks, Thomas 
Carlton Parks, Jr. (Fernanda), and Timothy Keith Parks; her three great-
grandchildren, Declan Booth, Nicholas Booth, and Alma Joyce Parks, along with 
her many nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces. 

Joyce was also honored by her very special and long-term friendships with 
Audrey Williams Dobson and Tilly Anderson, as well as the Sexton family, 
Maureen, Billy Jo, Billy T. (Melissa), Jimmy (Paula), Georgia Brown and Susie. 

Joyce was preceded in death by her husband, William Monroe Parks, Sr., her 
parents, Carlos Carlton Blackwell and Maude Lorraine Owen Blackwell, and her 
brother, Owen Thomas Blackwell.

The Parks family would like to extend a special thank you to Lora Grinnell, 
Annie Simon, Cat Anderson and the dedicated nurses, technicians and doctors at 
St. Tammany Parish Hospital, as well as Donna Berbling, Cheryl Bays and the 
staff of STPH Hospice Program, all of whom cared for Joyce with such 
thoughtfulness and grace. Special thanks also to Pastors James Mitchell and 
Josh Elder at St. Timothy UMC for their ministry to Joyce, especially in her 
final days. Finally, the Parks family would like to thank their dear friends 
for the outpouring of love and affection we have received on behalf of our Mom. 
God bless you all.

A funeral service honoring Joyce will be held at St. Timothy’s United Methodist 
Church, 335 Asbury Drive, Mandeville, LA 70471, on Saturday, March 12, 2016, 
with visitation at 10:00 a.m. and the memorial service at 11:00 a.m. 

In lieu of flowers, we invite you to honor Joyce’s memory with a donation to 
her favorite charity, the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home (www.lmch.org/).

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