LaWanda Parten, 78, of Fitzgerald, died Saturday, May 10, 2014 at Tift Regional Medical Center.
Funeral services will be held 4 PM, Thursday, May 15, 2014, at The Paulk Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Terry Cole, the Rev. Dewain Joiner and the Rev. Marvin Moore officiating. Interment will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7-9 Wednesday evening at the funeral home.
Mrs. Parten was born March 18, 1936, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to the late Luther T. & Ethel Mae Sylvester Pember. Her father led music in several churches and her parents passed down a love of music to their children. Together with her brother Tom and her sister Sherry, Mrs. Parten sang soprano in the family trio. They performed on radio and also sang with The Blackwood Brothers. She was a homemaker and a member of the Fitzgerald Full Gospel Church. She lived in the community for the past 20 years coming from Cochran. Mrs. Parten loved her family dearly and was a fervent prayer warrior, praying by name for her family and friends daily. Christmas was her favorite time of year and she decorated her home for the Season. She enjoyed hand making crafts and Christmas gifts. She loved hummingbirds and was a consultant for Mary Kay, Tupperware, and Avon. An avid cook, Mrs. Parten was featured in The Herald-Leader, which showcased her culinary skills. Her friends and family will remember her best for her cornbread salad and the 7-layer fudge chocolate cakes she baked for her children on their birthdays.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: Dale Ray Hess & Darlene of Fitzgerald, Steven Dewayne Hess & Lisa of Cochran, Larry Marvin Winfree & Pam of Fitzgerald, Tina Lynn Moore & Conway of Fitzgerald, Dea Parten & Rick of Fitzgerald, and Lisa Taylor & James of Fitzgerald; step-children; Hugh Archie Parten & Dale of Adairsville, Diane Randall & Don of Macon, and Judy Carol Eberhardt of Centerville; 40 grandchildren; 61 great-grandchildren; a sister: Sherry Lynn Curtis & Roy of Arizona; and two brothers: Donald Lee Pember & Linda and Glenn Dale Pember & Mary, all of California. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband: Dallas Oney Parten; a son: James Edward “Jimmy” Parten; a son-in-law: Daniel Eberhardt; and a brother: Thomas Pember.