Aline Whitby Parks

Helen Aline Whitby Parks age 84 of Snyder, TX, died Thursday, February 14, 2013 at Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas after a brief illness.

Services for Mrs. Parks will be held on Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 2:00 PM at 37the Street Church of Christ with Mr. Dale Huff officiating. Interment will follow at Snyder Cemetery under the direction of Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.

Mrs. Parks was born on March 20, 1928 in Dalhart, TX to Ross and Ethel Grace (Hughes) Whitby. She married Gray Allen (G.A.) Parks on April 13, 1952 in Dumas, Texas. He preceded her in death in 1998.

Mrs. Parks attended schools in Dalhart and Dumas, TX, graduating from Dumas High School in 1945. She graduated from Texas Technological College with a BA in journalism in 1949. Her first reporter job was with Pecos Enterprise. She came to work as a reporter for the Snyder Daily News in 1950. She worked for many years as a full time reporter, then part time. She was also the local correspondent to the Abilene Reporter News, Lubbock Avalanche Journal, and the San Angelo Standard Times. After her time in journalism, Aline worked as a full time secretary for the 37the Street Church of Christ and then later substituted as needed. She was the first Public Relations Director at Western Texas College in 1971, retiring in 1991.

Aline volunteered with many organizations including the Ranching Heritage Association; where she contributed to the formation of the Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech, the Scurry County Museum; where she helped to organize and design the original permanent exhibit, the Scurry County Historical Commission, Historic Scurry County Inc., White Buffalo Days, Chamber of Commerce office, Senior Center Advisory Committee, and the Cogdell Ladies Auxiliary.

She authored three books: Snyder Scrapbook: Hide Town to Boom Town; First Cattleman on the Lower Plains of West Texas (co-authored with Dudley Cramer), and The Coming West: True Stories of Trails Grown Dim (co-authored with Jeff Cochran). She also wrote a series of newspaper articles covering older homes in Scurry County and later wrote a script for a thirty minute video of the same subject, which won the Certificate of Merit from the Texas Historical Commission. Aline also edited the Historical Markers in Scurry County, Snyder Showplaces, School Days in Snyder, The Coming West, and Snyder Cemetery. She also donated articles to Footprints Across Scurry County.

She is survived by:
1 Daughter- Paula Parks Fulford & husband Jeff
1 Son- Whit Allen Parks & wife Tracey
3 Grandchildren-
Jameson Gray Fulford
Whitney Rae Parks
Grayson Allen Parks

She was preceded in death by her brother Kay Whitby and a sister Adelle Olney.

Visitation will be Saturday, February 16, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.

The family suggests memorials to:
G.A. & Aline Parks Scholorship
Lubbock Christian University
5601 19th St.
Lubbock, Texas 79407

Historic Scurry County, Inc.
P.O. Box 382
Snyder, Texas 79550

G.A. & Aline Parks Missionary Fund
c/o 37th St. Church of Christ
2500 37th St.
Snyder, Texas 79549