After spending a pleasant afternoon with his wife, daughter and son, Daniel E. Parks, Jr., of Pardeeville, WI passed away peacefully the following day on April 15, 2026.

He is survived by his loving wife Irma; his children Adele (Jerome) Cynkar and Daniel (Emily) Parks; son-in-law Wayne Schmid; grandchildren Ryan (Carly) Cynkar, Maggie (Adam) Pugh, Elizabeth (Frank) Lavin, Alyssa (Caleb Running) Cynkar, Adele Parks, Danae Parks, Jeremy (Paula) Cynkar, Meganne (Charlie) Sann, Patrick Dinegan, Adam Dinegan; twelve great-grandchildren; his sister Luella Tufo, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his daughter Cheryl Parks-Schmid; his sisters Alice Sawyer and Darlene Planer; his brothers Thomas Parks, George Parks, Dale Parks and Robert Parks; his niece Delyn Sawyer, and his nephews Randall Tufo, Dean Parks and Matthew Parks.

Born on January 25,1932 in Chicago, IL, the son of Daniel E. Parks, Sr and Alice Nixon, Dan spent most of his childhood living and working on a farm in Chetek, WI, with his grandparents, aunts and uncles. He was quite tall as a young boy and at age 9 he was responsible for driving his grandmother to church every day. When they passed a police officer, they waved. Even the police knew it was better to let them go than to interfere with his grandma’s duty to attend Mass.

As a freshman, he was on the varsity football team. By the following year, he was back in Chicago, and his football career ended, but his love for the Green Bay Packers never did. Even living in Chicago, he raised his kids to be Packer fans. Many lively discussions came from that devotion.  

In 1954, he met and married Irma M. Varroni and together they had three children – Adele, Cheryl and Daniel. In 1968 they moved to Pardeeville, WI and within a year, Dan realized his dream of owning his own farm. 

Early in adulthood, Dan was a truck driver, then tried other professions and finally decided that his calling was sheet metal, heating and air conditioning.  After several years of HVAC, he decided to add refrigeration to his areas of expertise and started Parks Refrigeration. He was well-known as a talented, caring, efficient, and fair businessman. One of his major customers was the Columbia Power Plant in Portage, WI.

Dan loved to hunt and fish. For several years, he took his family to Chetek for vacations in the summer to share his love of the area and fishing. Most of his deer hunting trips were in Missouri and Wisconsin, but one year he hunted in Montana and brought home an elk and a black bear. 

A very intelligent man, Dan had a special talent for figuring out solutions to difficult problems. Most of all, he was devoted to his family, friends, his work and his land. He will be dearly missed by many.

A Graveside Service will be held Friday, April 24, 2026 at 3:00 P.M. at the Pardeeville Cemetery. Visitation will be held at 1:00 P.M. until 3:00 P.M. at Grasse Funeral Home in Pardeeville. 

Thank you to Dr. Antonio Escobedo-Morse and to Randolph Health Services for taking such good care of him. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.