Virginia Sue Parks, a former Seward resident, was born in Talihina, Oklahoma, on Oct. 6, 1940, to Joe and Catherine (Mills) Parks.
The family eventually moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma. Her early childhood, and that of her three sisters, was not an easy one. Gratefully, she was introduced to the Lord at a very young age and the seeds of a strong faith were sewn. That faith, and the strong bond she shared with her sisters, would sustain her through the loss of her parents, through her youth spent at the Baptist Children’s Home in Oklahoma City and throughout her adult life.
Sue married Bob Tompkins on June 1, 1961. They were married for almost 60 years and together, they had four children. Bob’s career took them to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, back to Oklahoma, to New Mexico and back to Oklahoma. No matter what new town life took them to, they immediately sought a new church home where they could work and serve the Lord. Sue’s passion was serving in children’s ministries, church nurseries, and serving the community through food ministries. She was also a prayer warrior. She had an unwavering faith and spent time every day in prayer and reading God’s word.
Sue had a special ability to make a house a home and she made everyone who entered their home feel loved and welcomed. (So much so, that their children’s friends and dates often wanted to hang out out at the Tompkins’ house and play games with their parents).
Preceding Sue in death are her parents; her sister, Jane Wisniewski; her husband, Bob; and her son, Robert Scott Tompkins. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Billie Jo and JD Hadley, Edmond, Oklahoma; her sister, Daisy Gibson, Edmond; her daughter and son-in-law, Mitzi and Bob Vavrick, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin; her daughter and son-in-law, Nancy and Chris Allen, Gracemont, Oklahoma; her son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Julie Tompkins, Nolanville, Texas; her nephews, Wayne (Kristie) Wisniewski and Ken (Melissa) Hadley; and seven grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Baptist Children’s Home of Oklahoma City. The funeral was March 2 at the First Baptist Church, Anadarko, Oklahoma, with internment at the Memory Lane Cemetery in Anadarko. Arrangements by Ray and Martha's Funeral Home, Anadarko.
