Remembering Timi

VIRGINIA "TIMI" TAIMI PARKER

November 22, 1950 – March 8, 2013

Timi was born in Stamford, CT to Tyson and Doris Taimi, the third of four sisters. Her last name was misspelled at the hospital and she was called the "Timi" baby. She grew up in Newport, NH and graduated in 1968 from Newport High where she excelled in academics, was a varsity majorette, was voted "best looking" and was Newport’s Winter Carnival queen. Her fascination with politics began during these tumultuous years, punctuated by the loss of her beloved Gary in the Vietnam War. She first came to Portland, OR in the early ‘70s following her sister Judith. She married James C. Parker in 1975 in NH at the old Mt Sunapee ski lodge, and then returned to Oregon via a cross-country trip in their VW bus. Her passion for learning and reading was imparted to many thousands of children through her long career as an Oregon public school teacher and librarian in St. Paul, Dundee, and West Linn. After retirement she worked avidly on many political and social causes, using her fierce intelligence and independence to fight for positive change. She always made time for her favorite pastime of babysitting her precious grandchildren, who adore their Mummu. Her final hours were spent at home with family, where her house was filled with music and the laughter of her grandchildren. She passed as the sun rose and the birds sang. She is predeceased by her parents and sister Sandra. She is survived by her sisters Judith Shipley (Fred) and Robin Farquhar (Jay), her children Ethan Parker (Jaime), Miriam Parker (Phil), and Stephanie Taimi-Mandel, and her grandchildren Tate, Iris, Lexi and Griffin, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. Her SISU lives on in all of us.