Estelle Burgess Parken (DECATUR, Ga.)

DECATUR, Ga. - Nina Estelle Burgess Parken, of Decatur, formerly of Augusta, died February 3 at Arbor Terrace in Decatur. Born August 23, 1921 in Happy, Texas, she was the daughter of John and Sallie Crawford Burgess. She received her B.S. in Elementary Education at West Texas State University and her M.A. in Adult Education at Georgia Southern University. She married Dwight William Parken in 1945 and they lived in Kansas and Illinois before settling in Augusta in 1967. After Dwight's death in 2005, she moved to Decatur in 2006. She taught Adult Basic Education for Richmond County Schools and was named Teacher of the Year for Georgia in Adult Basic Education. Whether she was teaching Girl Scouts without raingear, immigrant children in New Mexico with no teaching materials, inmates with no reading and writing skills, or English to well-educated adult immigrants, she spread a love for learning and a commitment to the fundamentals. She is survived by her brother, Winston of Amarillo, Texas; her daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Curt Lindquist of Decatur; her son and daughter-in-law, William David and Bobbie Parken of Wilton Manors, Fla.; her son and daughter-in- law, Robert Dwight and Jackie Parken of Grovetown; four grandchildren, Jennifer Hoon, Stephen Parken, Charles Lindquist, and Dwight Lindquist; and two great- grandchildren, Karlyn and Kade Hoon. Four siblings pre-deceased Estelle. Her life will be celebrated at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 11 a.m., Wednesday, February 6. Visitation is immediately before at Aldersgate at 10:30 a.m. Interment at Westover Memorial Park. Thomas Poteet and Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, Ga. 30907. (706) 364-8484. www.thomaspoteet.com . Sign the guestbook at AugustaChronicle.com

The Augusta Chronicle-February 5, 2008