Norman Parks

Norman Christopher Parks traveled peacefully to his eternal home on Saturday, August 12, 2017 at the age of 47. A Celebration of Life ceremony will be 2:30 PM, Tuesday, August 15, 2017 in the Teague High School Auditorium with Rev. Tom Prentiss and Rev. Mr. Glenn McGuire officiating. Visitation with the family will be 6-9 PM, Monday, at Blair-Stubbs Funeral Home. Chris was born July 28, 1970 to Jim and Marjorie Parks in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Parks Family moved a few years later to the Central Texas area and made Mexia their home. Chris was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Mexia Blackcat Class of l988 and Midwestern State University Class of 1996. Chris married his loving wife of 22 years, Michelle Samford on May 27, 1995 and they welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Rebekah, in December 2000. Chris loved sports and he loved to be a trainer. Chris took his first official training job with the Waco Wizards in 1996. He quickly knew that his heart did not lie with minor league hockey and was fortunate to come back to his hometown and be part of an athletic training program at Parkview Regional Hospital called Orthosport. Orthosport allowed him to help kids in 13 different school districts and was dedicated to Fairfield ISD. Within a few months of working at Fairfield, he was promoted to the program director and was moved to Mexia ISD. He cared for the athletes of Mexia ISD for 18 continuous seasons until his transition to Teague ISD. Mexia was his home but the Teague community opened their arms and took him in wholeheartedly. Although Chris was not a Teague native, he loved the community and loved the kids. Over the 22 years of Chris's career, he cared not only for the physical ailments of his student athletes but came to love them like his own children. No matter how many of them felt like they left him mad or disappointed, in either their treatment progression or their life choices, Chris loved them all unconditionally. Once you were one of his kids, you were always one of his kids. He did treatments and cured ailments for many of his graduated athletes long after they were out of school. Chris lived his life to the fullest and he loved deeply. He was not afraid to give you a hand, give you a hug or kick you in the butt if you needed it. Chris' favorite person was Vince Lombardi and I believe that he lived by the following motto: "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor" - Vince Lombardi Chris did this every day in his personal and professional life. He was a loving husband, father, brother and son. He was a dedicated athletic trainer to his profession whether it was helping out a fellow trainer or getting that kid back in the game for the coach. He lived passionately, he loved passionately and he wanted to leave a little something of him with everyone he met. Chris is survived by his wife, Michelle Samford Parks of Mexia; his daughter, Rebekah Parks of Mexia; his parents, Jim and Marjorie Parks of Mexia; one brother, Adam Parks and wife, Lauren of Mexia; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Jerry and Cathy Samford of Mexia; brother-in-law, Sam Samford and wife, Tasha of Powderly; and three beautiful nieces that he loved dearly, Adelaide Parks, Jadyn Samford and Rylee Samford. In lieu of flowers, we ask memorials be sent to the Chris Parks Memorial Scholarship Fund, 256A LCR 508, Mexia, TX 76667.

Visitation Details

Monday, August 14th, 2017 6:00pm - 9:00pm, Blair-Stubbs Funeral Home

Service Information

Tuesday, August 15th, 2017 2:30pm, Teague High School Auditorium