Charlotte Parker

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Biography

• First-hand information. Entered by Charlotte Parker at registration.

I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. My father, James Charles Parker was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. My mother, Helen Marie Gross, was born in Walla Walla, Washington. I was married to Craig Marshall Edwards in 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have 7 children, 17 grand children and 2 great grandchildren.

I am told that it was a day for celebrating when I, Charlotte Marie, was born on 8 July 1948 in Seattle, Washington at the Virginia Mason Hospital. I was the second child of James Charles and Helen Marie Gross Parker. Having a son already, my brother, Warin James, it was the desire of my mother to have a girl. As I was born on my Grandmother Charlotte Helen Macomber Gross' birthday I was also blessed to be named for her,as well as being given my mother's middle of my mother, Marie. I was born extremely "pidgeon-toed" this necessitated that as I learned to walk I had to wear special shoes and at night I wore leg braces referred to as a "Dennis Brown Splint." This was a metal bar that had shoes attached to it- its purpose was to slowly turn my feet outward. I started my school days with a brace on my left leg and had to wear sturdy shoes to give support to my feet and ankles for many years. In spite of this "handicap" I was a happy, healthy child with long brown hair which hung in curls as my mom put my hair in "rag curls" each night. I never let my braces or weak ankles hinder my ambition to do anything that anyone else was happening. At the age of 5 I had my first big adventure. My mother, brother and I traveled by train from Seattle to Billings, Montana where my father was working that summer for the Pullman Company on railroad cars. I was blessed as a child to have lots of family near by. My maternal grandmother and I celebrated every birthday together until I turned 21. My memories of my maternal grandfather, Myron Willis Gross, areabout how he was so industrious- his yard was always wonderful, he raised chrysanthemum and entered them in shows. I loved seeing him, as I knew that I would get a "wisker burn" kiss-which I miss, he passed away when I was about 10 years old. I was also blessed to know my great grandmother, Mary Theresa Cusker Gross. She passed away at the age of 101 years, 1 month, one week, and 1 day. She outlived her husband by over 40 years and spent most of her life on crutches due to a hip injury. Listening to stories of life in the "olden days" was always a treat. She loved quilting and made so very many. Family was always important to my parents and they instilled that love in their children. Whether it was holidays, family outings or honoring those who had left this earthly existence family was a part of my life. Most summers of my youth were spend camping with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Charlie Courtney and other friends and family. Sometimes we went to Alta Lake, or other times we went to the ocean. Camping summers ended when my dad had trouble with getting the tent up one year. Whenever my Great Aunt Harriet came up to visit my grandmother from California it was an opportunity to go to Hood's Canal and get fresh oysters and clams. My mother and grandmother cooked the very best fried oysters! This is one recipe that my mother never shared so I have not been able to pass it on to future generations My official school days began at Skyway Grade School about 2 blocks from my home. For 5th and 6th grades I went to Bryn Mawr Elementary School. School was always great, I loved reading books! But the best part was that I had a cousin, Barbara Wheeler that was always in the same grade as I was. We usually ended up in the same class. As first cousins we looked alot alike for many years. I got called Barbara more than Charlotte and visa versa for her. We even ended up getting glasses that were identical once(but that was not intentional). Barbara and I were blessed by our grandfather to be able to play muscial instruments in school.We started in the 4th grade to learn to play violins that were gifts from Grandpa Gross. Barbara would eventually change to the viola, but we played throughout the rest of our school years. In our Junior High days Barbara grew about 5 or so inches more than me and our similarities slowly changed. During my youth I was actively engaged in Camp Fire Girls, Girl Scouts and Young Women's Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I had wonderful leaders in these organizations that taught me about camping, service and so many other things. I stayed with the Camp Fire Girls through my high school years, where I progressed through all ranks earning its highest rank with a Individual Torch in Religion. Every spring we sold Camp Fire Girls mints to help fund the organization. When I was 8 I was the top "Blue Bird" seller in the Renton area and got my picture in the newspaper and earned a free week of camp at Camp Sealth on Vashon Island. My parents gave me the opportunity to go to this camp every year which was a highlight for me each summer. I remember once that our return boat ride was delayed, I was supposed to be picked up by my Aunt and Uncle and taken to an airport for a plane trip to join my family in Port Angeles, Washington. My first airplane ride the next day was on a smallish plane that seated about 12 people. There was no stewardess, the co-pilot came around and offered us chewing gum to help alleviate ear pressure while ascending and descending. This was before the days of pressurized cabins for planes! Being without family on this flight, was a scary but wonderful adventure! One of my best memories about Camp Fire Girls was our group leader, Mrs. Grace Jones. She was there for us for years from elementary school till we graduated from high school. She played many important roles in my life and I looked forward to return trips to home. Not only was it a chance to be with family but, but also to stop in and visit Grace to catch her up on my life. Another memory of Camp Fire Girls was that we had Indian names and at special meetings we wore Indian ceremonial gowns. I was honored to wear the dress that had been my mother's when she was a young girl. My Indian-name was Tami Kun-Yah (which meant, I liked serving people, learning new ideas, and to read). When I was 7 years old my father was again sent to Billings, Montana to work for the summer. This time however we went as a family with the addition of my younger sister, Mary Ann. She was born June 11, 1954 and was premature weighing in at 4 lbs, 13 ounces at birth. That summer my family was introduced by our neighbors to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My parents made the choice to join this church on March 30, 1956. When I turned 8 in 1956 my brother and I were baptized and became members also. Our family had now increased with the birth of another son, Myron Clifford Parker. He was born 28 August 1958, When my teen year began I attended A. W. Dimmitt Junior High School for grades 6-9. My high school years were at Renton High School. I graduated from high school on June 9th, 1966 with my brother Warin, and my cousin Barbara. My brother and I also graduated from 4 years of early morning seminary, a program of religious instruction in our church. Just days after graduation my brother left on a 2 year mission for our church. He served in the Western Canadian Mission. He spent his 2 years in Alberta and Saskatchewan. While he was in Canada I went to work for Pacific Northwest Bell as an information operator with my cousin Barbara. I also began my only college studies at Seattle Community College. As I prepared to turn 21 years old the Vietnam War was in full swing. So many young men that we had attended school with were called up to active duty. Many gave their lives as they fought that war. For the Church, young men were limited to serving a mission, like my brother had done. as only 2 young men could be called from a ward per year at this time so that the all others would be free to accept the draft. At this time my bishop, Bishop Paul Diehl, approached me about going to serve a full-time mission like Warin had done. I accepted his call and one month later on August 9th, I reported to Salt Lake City, Utah to enter the Mission Home to begin my mission- which would take me to New England. I served for 2 years in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. As I began my mission I met a very special Elder who was going on a mission to France. He was asked to play the piano at one of our meetings, and I was asked to lead the music. I knew immediately that Elder Craig Edwards was a very special young man. We corresponded throughout our missions and knew that we wanted to meet again. Upon his return from France, Craig drove across country to meet me and my family. He was also coming out to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where he was enrolled! We entered the Salt Lake Temple on November 23rd, 1971 where we were married for time and all eternity. Elder Paul H. Dunn, who had served as the president of my mission, performed the ceremony that sealed (married) us. After marriage we began our life together in the Provo area where Craig continued his studies majoring in Russian and minoring in French. Life changing quickly for us when we realized that our family was growing. Our first child Shauna Joelle Edwards was born at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 26th, 1972. She has been a joy to us and we are so grateful to call her ours. Eleven months later we were blessed with the arrival of a son. Neil Aaron Edwards was born Aug 1, 1973. 21 months later we were blessed with another daughter, Amy Mireille Edwards. She was born May 22, 1975. 17 months later our 3rd daughter and 4th child was born on October 14, 1976, Meredith Danielle Edwards. 21 months later, our 4th daughter and 5th child joined our family on August 10, 1978, Jaralynn Monique Edwards. 16 months later, our 5th daughter and 6th child joined the family. Natalie Christianne Edwards was born on January 1, 1980. After an almost 3 year break we were thrilled with the arrival of our 2nd son and 7th child Lyle Spencer Edwards, he was born on December 21, 1982. Craig who had been an only child now was father to 7 children and his life has never been the same. In October 1976 another big change happened in our family life besides the birth of Meredith. On the day of Meredith's birth Craig became a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The choir responsibilities and privileges were to shape all of our lives until he retired in 2002. Craig was able to travel around the world and throughout the United States and Canada. In 1980 we were finally able to buy our very first house. It was in Magna, Utah. How excited we all were to have a place that we could call "our home." I was blessed to be a stay-at-home mother for many years, but shortly after Lyle's birth I got a job as a type setter (which was now done on a computer). I worked in this field for several years until 1989 when I was hired as a claim's processor for First Health. I worked there for 13 years until 2002. Craig had been out of work for a while and had finally gotten a job that was back in Baltimore, Maryland. We emptied out our house so that Amy's family could move in. Packed up what would fit into our car and the two of us drove to Maryland. We left in Utah our children and young grandchildren. Craig and I loved our time in Maryland, although this time began with the death of my mother. In 2004 after 2 years in Maryland, Craig was laid off from the job we had come back to Maryland. I had already lost my job which I had had there also. Meredith and her son, Kaeden, had come back to live with us as she was going through some health challenges. So in 2004 we packed up the car, and loaded up a van with more boxes to begin our trip back to Utah. Kaeden was flown back to Utah to stay with family till our arrival. Craig and I would be driving the van and Meredith and her then boyfriend would be driving our car. The trip back to Utah was uneventful till we were nearing the pass coming into Laramie, Wyoming. The day early July and a freak hailstorm hit as we were coming down the pass into Laramie. Meredith and Elias were a couple minutes ahead of us. The storm had made visibility very, very limited. Meredith and Elias had pulled over to the side of the road to wait out the storm. Behind them came an SUV pulling a trailer which lost control of their vehicle. They side-swipped our car leaving only the inside door panels on the car. How grateful we were to find that both Elias and Meredith were safe even if our car had been totaled. Miracles continued in that we were able to rent the last available car at the very small Laramie Airport. This enabled us to continue our trip to Utah, leaving behind our very, very sad car. Meanwhile, our eldest daughter Shauna, her husband, Brad Simonson and their children had recently moved back to Utah after living in Nevada for several years. Thanks to Shauna and Brad, Craig and I were able to move into their home with them in Sandy, Utah. In September 2006 I started having some health challenges. I suffered a right pons stroke which affected my entire left side. Six months later I had a cardiac incident that lead to doctors putting a stent in the main aorta of my heart, which was found to be over 80% blocked. After the surgery I had problems with bleeding internally and had to have 6 pints of blood replaced. I became determined to loose weight and become more active so that I could improve my health. Shortly before the stroke I had also been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Since I had lost a brother to diabetes improving my health in this area also was very important. I was able to loose 60 pounds and kept it off for approximately 9 years. I learned to love walking and exercise and improved to a point where I could walk 5 miles. After my stroke I was classified as "disabled" so it was not necessary for me to return to the work force. The love that my parents had shared with me for genealogy came to be a life-saver for me. Eventually, I also followed my parents and older brother and was blessed to serve as a temple worker. We have served 3 separate times now at the Oquirrh Mountain LDS temple. After Craig's retirement in Dec 2010 we enjoyed serving at the temple together. In February 2012 we began our first calling to serve as senior missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were called to serve as temple missionaries at the Halifax Nova Scotia Canada Temple. Our 3 week drive to Halifax, Nova Scotia was a dream come true for us. Our 18 months in Halifax was humbling learning, and amazing. We fell in love with everyone we met and loved the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Six months after our return home we accepted another mission call. This time we would go to Houston. Texas to serve in the mission office of the Texas Houston Mission. An added blessing to this mission was that we would live with our eldest daughter and her family! Another bonus was the Houston Texas Temple that we were blessed to attend and to volunteer at. Again, we learned so much from our duties and from the people. Again in was hard to leave and return to Utah. But we had some very special reasons to return home. Our daughter Natalie had given birth to our 17th grandchild while we were in Texas. Her new daughter Adalynn Charlotte Gregory is such a joy to all the family. Also our oldest granddaughter, Alayna Bishop, had given birth to our first great grandchild, and also our 2nd great grandchild. Lennon and Berlin are also wonderful and their mother is doing an amazing job. The biography for Charlotte Parker is empty. What can you add?

Charlotte is a Friend (Quaker) descendant and researcher

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