Obituary : Drusilla "Sue" N. Parks
Drusilla "Sue" Norton Parks, 77, of Bradenton, Fla., died on December 6 after a courageous battle with leukemia. Daughter of the late Samuel B. and Mildred Jackson Norton, Sue was born December 20, 1930 on Martha's Vineyard, where she lived for most of her life.
She loved sailing as a child, and did much charity work for the Methodist church. Sue was a talented artist, who as a youth studied with Ruth Mead and furthered her education at the Massachusetts School of Art where she graduated in 1952 with a degree in fashion design and illustration. After college she held various positions at such places in the Boston area such as United Shoe, where she was employed as a shoe designer, Priscilla's Bridal Shop, and Shreve, Crump and Low. She met her future husband, the late William C. Parks, at W.W. Winship and Co. They married in 1958, and lived in Hingham for several years, before moving back to her hometown of Edgartown.
After she acquired her real estate license in the early 1970s, she worked with her husband at Avery and Co. in Edgartown. When her mother died in 1980, following in her footsteps Sue set up shop in the family's Osborn Building on Edgartown waterfront, where she sold antiques as well as artifacts from her father's years at sea. After closing the shop, she continued these sales for several summers at the flea market in West Tisbury.
Following several years of wintering on Anna Maria Island in Florida, she settled permanently in the 1990s in Bradenton. Her roots were on the Vineyard, but she loved life in Florida and the casual year-round freedom it allowed. One of her greatest joys was shopping, and she had an uncanny knack for finding treasures at bargain prices. Sue lived life to the fullest and enjoyed her many friends and family.
Her wonderful sense of humor and lightness of spirit will long be remembered and sadly missed by all who knew and loved her. Survivors include two brothers, S. Bailey Norton Jr. and wife Joan, and Floyd C. Norton and wife Janet of Edgartown; two nieces, Nancy N. Monahan and husband Kenneth, of Hingham, and Deborah B. Norton and husband Bill Snyder of Essex Junction, Vt; nephew Stuart L. Norton and wife Cathi of Bloomington, Ind.; niece-in-law Christiane Norton of Amherst; and several grand and great-grand nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two nephews, Samuel B. Norton III and David A. Norton.
A gathering of family and friends will take place at a future date on Martha's Vineyard and in Bradenton. Arrangements by Griffith-Cline Funeral Home of Bradenton. Donations in her memory may be made to Tidewell Hospice and Palliative Care, 3355 26th St. West, Bradenton, FL 34205.
