Funeral Mass
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Montrose, Missouri
Thursday, February 16, 2012
11:00 am

Officiant
Father John Bolderson

VISITATION - ROSARY
Hill and Son Funeral Home
Appleton City, Missouri
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Visitation: 6:00 -7:00pm
Rosary 7:00: pm

INTERMENT
Appleton City Cemetery
Appleton City, Missouri

MEMORIAL
Appleton City Cemetery Association

Edwin Nathaniel (Bill) Park passed away at Appleton City Manor surrounded by his family on February 11, 2012, at the age of 88. He was a member of the Catholic Church. Bill was a devoted and beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Although he spent much of his life as a small business owner and operator in Appleton City, his upbringing made him a farmer at heart, and he enjoyed nothing better than taking a drive to see how the crops were doing. He was an avid bowler, golfer, historian, and storyteller, and his sense of humor always brought smiles—and laughs—to those around him. Above all, his integrity and strength of character have remained a source of solidity for his family.

Bill was born near Lowry City, Missouri, on June 13, 1923, the youngest child of Gomer Park and Rosa Belle Snyder Park. The Park and Snyder families first settled in St. Clair County in the 1840s and 1850s. Bill served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a member of the 3rd Army, 87th Division. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and was among the troops who met the Russian Army in Berlin. At the end of the war, he met Julie Pavlik at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and they were married on March 31, 1946.

Bill and Julie settled in Appleton City, where they bought the Blue Inn Café. In the early 1950s, they moved to Kansas City; but after a few years, they returned to Appleton, where Bill became the Skelly Oil agent. They repurchased the Blue Inn in the early 1960s and operated it until 1976. He was also engaged in farming with his brother Ival Park near Rich Hill and ran a crop-spraying business with his brother-in-law Gene Niemann. Bill was active in the Appleton City Optimist Club and Service Club, as well as other community organizations, and was a charter member of the Montrose VFW. Bill and Julie moved to Leawood, Kansas, in 1994 to live with their daughter Joan Hill and her family. In early 2010, they returned to Appleton City, where Bill was a resident at Countryside Estates and Julie at Appleton City Manor.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Julie, who died in 2010; his parents; and his two brothers and three sisters, Ival Park, Bernard Park, Nola Park Fitch, Lorene Park Shoemaker, and Berniece Park Niemann. He is survived by daughter Beverly Park Peavler and husband Jim Peavler of Albuquerque, New Mexico; daughter Joan Park Hill and husband Chris Hill of Leawood, Kansas; daughter Jan Park Huber and husband Tim Huber of Charlotte, North Carolina; granddaughter Julie Peavler McCord and husband Tim McCord of Anaheim, California; grandson James Peavler of Glendale, Arizona; granddaughter Lauren Hill of Leawood, Kansas; granddaughter Brooke Hill of Leawood, Kansas; great-grandson Brendan McCord of Anaheim, California; granddog Archie Hill of Leawood, Kansas; and many nieces and nephews.