Loula Alexandra Heffner Parks, 60, passed away peacefully on December 12, 2023, surrounded by her dear siblings, mother, and children in her home in Leesburg, Florida.
She was born on October 25, 1963, at Saint Joseph Hospital in Asheville North Carolina to Maria Heffner, née Brown, and Jackson Edward Heffner. Loula devoted her life to serving others in her teaching career, the church, and her family, looking to the Lord for His guidance in all she did. Loula was an alumna of the Oakwood Elementary School (Hickory, NC), the Samuel Ready School (Baltimore, MD), Webb School (Bell Buckle, TN), Shelbyville Central High School (Shelbyville, TN), and graduated from Salem Academy (Winston Salem, NC) Class of 1980. She went on to graduate from the University of North Carolina Asheville with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature in 1982. In 1986 she began her journey in teaching at The Webb School as an English teacher where she met and married Andrew Thomas Parks in 1996.
After starting a family in Tennessee, the two would move to Montverde, Florida, and take on the dual responsibilities of being new parents and dorm parents. In 2009, Loula took her two kids overseas to Marrakech, Morocco where she continued her English teaching career at the American School of Marrakech and shared her love for literature with students from across the globe. She continued to influence international students as an English teacher at Montverde Academy where her school responsibilities extended beyond the classroom as a campus administrator on duty and creator of a science fiction elective class where she shared her love for the works of Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, but also introduced a new generation to the science fiction shows she loved like Star Trek and The Twilight Zone. While teaching at Montverde Academy, Loula Parks worked diligently while teaching to earn a Master’s Degree in Education at Union University in 2018. During her time in Montverde, she became a crucial member of Embrace Church of Montverde where she attended weekly prayer meetings, oversaw the children in the nursery, and served on the pastor search committee. Loula Parks will always be remembered for her inimitable generosity, passion for bringing out the best in future generations, and commitment to Jesus Christ and her family.
She is survived by her mother Maria Heffner; three siblings Jackson Edward “Jerry” Heffner, Louisa Self and her husband, Mike and Jordan Heffner; two children Gilles Pierce and her husband, Matthew and Mathewson Parks; four grandchildren Elizabeth “Libby” Pierce, Victoria Pierce, Aliyah Pierce and Myra Pierce.
The celebration of life service will be held on Friday, December 15th at 2:00 p.m. at Embrace Church in Montverde, Florida.
In lieu of flowers please consider contributing to the grand-daughters’ C-529. The amount will be distributed equally amongst the girls unless you specify otherwise.
