Bobby Lynn Parker, 89

Bobby Lynn Parker of Bigfork passed away peacefully Aug. 23, 2020, at Kalispell Regional Medical Center just 10 days after celebrating his 89th birthday.

Bobby was born in 1931 in Englewood, Kansas, to Orville and Florence (Withrow) Parker. When he was a young child, the family moved to the Pacific Northwest to escape the dust bowl of Oklahoma. They first joined Orville’s brother Ralph and his wife in the Mountain Brook area, then lived in several places in the Flathead Valley. The family moved to Vancouver, Washington, for a time while Orville and Florence both worked in the shipyards. They returned to the Somers area in 1945 and Bobby graduated from Flathead County High School in 1949.

In 1952 Bobby married Sydne Ferree and they moved to the Fortine area, as Bobby had joined his father in O. N. Parker and Son Lumber Company. They logged the Grave Creek drainage, building roads into the mountains to bring out the timber. A camp at the sawmill housed loggers and mill workers. Florence ran the cook-house and Sydne worked as a kitchen helper while raising their two young children in a small trailer in the woods.

The sawmill was later moved to Highway 93, just south of Fortine and the family moved there also. Bobby spent most of his logging years running a loader. He survived a serious accident when loading a truck in the woods and spent six weeks in the hospital followed by six weeks in bed at home.

In 1970 the family moved to Browning while the company logged in the area of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The company was sold in 1974 but Bobby continued logging in the Flathead/Eureka area, partnering at times with lifelong friend Charles Siderius. His marriage to Sydne ended in 1983.

On retirement, Bobby moved back to Kalispell and reconnected with a high school friend, K. Phyllis Treweek-Kirk. Their friendship grew into a lifelong love. They married in 1988 and, after Phyllis retired, moved to Bigfork where they operated the Dancing Bear Orchard on Flathead Lake, harvesting cherries for wholesale in Washington state as well as locally.

Bobby and Phyllis lovingly cared for the beautiful property surrounded by aspen trees, overlooking the lake. The setting served as a wedding venue for grandchildren and was the site of many family celebrations. Children and grandchildren enjoyed the lake from their dock, often sleeping in a teepee pitched in the trees. The property was sold in 2019 when the couple moved to Village Greens in Kalispell.

Bobby was an avid reader of all types of literature, and he and Phyllis enjoyed traveling the world together. They spent snowbird winters in Arizona and enjoyed vacations in Mexico. They visited Europe several times and, with Phyllis’s daughters, embarked on an extensive Eastern European river cruise.

In spite of their wide-ranging travels, Bobby’s favorite place on earth was Glacier National Park, where over the years he enjoyed family camping trips, hiking, fishing and spotting wildlife. He gave many a personal guided tour of the park to out-of-state visitors and never tired of the trip.

Bobby will be remembered by his family and friends for his kind eyes, relentless work ethic, tender heart and quiet resilience.

He is survived by his wife, K. Phyllis Kirk-Parker; daughter, Terri Parker West (Lloyd Litsey), of Little Rock, Arkansas; son, Kevin Parker, of Eureka; stepdaughters, Barbara Kirk-Cook and Janice Kirk-Carter of Kalispell, Deanna Kirk of Las Vegas and stepson Tim (Connie) Kirk of Missoula; stepgrandchildren, Andy (Amy) Kirk, Katie Cook, Jane Cook, Tyler (Maggie) Kirk, Mac (Rachell) Kirk, Cody (Sarah) Kirk, Annie Kirk, Beau Carter, Josey (Dallas) Koke, Taylor Peck and Kylie Peck; 13 stepgreat-grandchildren; sisters, Betty Wise of Kalispell and Chrystal Schoenrock of Nikiski, Alaska; and nine nieces and nephews and their families.

He was preceded in death by his parents, older sister Billie Nelson, and younger brother Roger Parker.

Contributions may be made in Bobby’s honor to the Flathead Lakers organization, for preservation of the water and the beauty of the lake that he loved so much.