Wili Parks

Wili was a free spirit, filled with curiosity and creativity. She had little patience for conventions or expectations and blazed her own trail. She showed great love and compassion for the good people around her but also was never afraid to say what was on her mind.

Wili Parks of Troy, Ohio passed away at age 92 on July 22, 2025, in her residence at The Courtyard of Troy. She was born October 19, 1932, in Berea, Kentucky to the late Chris Lee and Beulah (Bullens) Clem. Wili is survived by her son Dino Parks, daughter-in-law Julie Anderson and daughter Peri Parks; grandson Luke Clark; niece Ramona Thomas and nephews Marc Clem and Brian Clem. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Chriss G. Clem, and recently by her beloved cousins Joan (Howard) Burnside and Wavalene (Hysinger) Kessler, and her beloved niece Teresa Clem.

Wili (Willowdeen Clem) was a 1950 graduate of Troy High School, where she was a pitcher on the softball team and played French horn in the Band. She attended Eastern Kentucky State College and worked in the Troy area at Hobart Manufacturing, Captor Corporation and as a school bus driver for Tipp City Schools. In midlife she returned to school, studying art at Edison College and Antioch University, graduating with a B.A. in Art Education in 1981. Wili followed her son Dino to California and was a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District where she loved teaching art to her students. She encouraged them to express freely without fear of criticism, and introduced them to the idea of abstract non-representational art. She photographed their work and saved many of the students' original pieces, proudly hanging them in her own home.

In retirement she returned to Troy, and was a member of the "Lunch Bunch," meeting monthly at area restaurants with her THS classmates Peggy House, Ruth Simpson, Carolyn Pearson, Darlene Grissom, Carolyn Pointer, Nancy North, Rosie Foles, Jean Bruckner and others. She had a green thumb and filled her house with plants, and loved her cat Lightfeet, her dog Miles, and Harvey the Groundhog who lived under her back porch.

For the last three years, Wili was a resident at The Courtyard of Troy (formerly Randall Residence). She enjoyed the group outings, especially fishing trips with other residents. She will be remembered fondly by many residents and the compassionate and caring staff there.

A Celebration of Life memorial will be held at some time in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Troy Hayner Cultural Center through Friends of Hayner, online at https://www.troyhayner.org/donation-form.html