Thomas D. Parr

Thomas D. Parr

Lake Forest, Ill.

Thomas D. Parr, 76 of Lake Forest, Ill., passed away on Sept. 20, 2023. Thomas was born in Chicago, Ill.

He is survived by his loving wife, Marlena Parr (nee Gibson).

He was preceded in death by his mother, Evelyn Honore Parr (nee Strong) and his father, Dr. Stanley J. Parr.

Thomas and Marlena were married in Rapid City, S.D. He proposed to Marlena by a beautiful river located in Riverside, Ill., which will always be a very special place to them. They were blessed to have spent 20 wonderful years together. Thomas attended grammar school at St. Mary’s and Blyth Park schools in Riverside, before graduating high school from Carl Schurz in Chicago. Thomas graduated from Upper Iowa University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history with a minor in English. He participated in the Sigma Tau Delta Fraternity. While living and attending school in Fayette, Iowa, Thomas served as president of the Young Republicans Club.

Thomas was a federal employee who worked in different federal agencies throughout his career. He had to travel at times and was offered management positions in Washington, D.C. and in Hawaii. Thomas was a member of the Church of St. Mary, Lake Forest, Ill., and of the Dickenson Hall Senior Center. He had a wide variety of interests always centering first on meeting people and in music, art, architecture, antiques, gardening, dancing, theater and storytelling.

A visitation for Thomas will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the Church of St. Mary, 175 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045. The Mass will follow the visitation at 10:30 a.m. at the Church of St. Mary. The interment will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at Cedar Memorial Cemetery, 4200 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For more information: Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Directors of Lake Forest at www.rtfunerals.com or (847) 234-9649.