‘Dedicated, hardworking and opinionated’: Vale Val

Val Parker.

An obituary for Val Parker, provided by her family.

It is never easy to say goodbye or farewell, but it’s important. We are here because Nan meant so much to so many people.

It’s hard to put into words how much she will be missed and what a positive impact she had on each friend and family member.

Valma Amy Goodman was born in Launceston on 21 October, 1934. She was the oldest child of Coral and Jack Goodman and sister to John, Maurice, Gloria, Don, Peggy and Dennis.

As a child, she spent much of her time in Hill End and went to primary school on a pony.

Val met Tom in a taxi in Traralgon – he was the taxi driver and was late picking her up and drove her to Hill End. They started chatting and a romance blossomed.

They married at the Holy Trinity Church in Moe in 1953 when Val was 19 years old. Their first house was a bluestone cottage at Werribee Park where both Michael and Theresa were born.

The young family moved to Alexandra when Tom got a job in a saw mill; from there, they moved to a farm in Rubicon where Terry, Lenny and Raymond were born.

They then moved to Nar Nar Goon North to a dairy farm where their last child, Chris, was born.

From there, the family moved into the township of Pakenham.

Once the children were old enough, Val got a job at Nooy’s bakery where she met Helen Nooy and a lifetime friendship began. After many years in Pakenham, they moved into Shannagolden Village – ironically right next door to Helen.

Val’s immediate family include her husband and best friend for over 70 years, Tom; children Michael – who sadly passed away earlier this year, Theresa, Terry, Len, Ray and Chris; their partners Brian, Toni, Frances and Emma, and grandchildren Timothy, Grant, Rowan, Lachlan, Alistair, Kristie, Rhys, Beccy, Nick, Chris, Rochelle, Luke, Todd, Alanah, Taylah, Zoe and Flynn.

Val also has 18 great grandchildren. We know each of them are very saddened by her passing.

Today, as we grieve together, we want to highlight some of what made her so special.

If we had to use just three words to describe her, we would say: dedicated, hardworking and opinionated.

We are sure each of you could add lots more, as we know each of you had your own special relationship with Nan.

As you may know, she loved Tom and really enjoyed spending time with him. Which was lucky as they had been together for over 70 years!

She also developed a love for football when Michael started playing. To her delight, all five of her boys played football at Pakenham as well as grandsons Luke and Nick.

Nan became involved not only as a spectator but also as a volunteer where she spent countless hours in the canteen each and every home game for over 45 years. Nan was awarded a Life Membership for service to the Pakenham Football Club – an honour she was so proud to have accepted.

Nan was known for her loud cheering, constant advice to players – whether they wanted it or not – and her tireless work.

The only thing that would have made her happier would have been if she had more of her grandsons playing at her beloved club!

We admire the way Nan was honest, whether you wanted to hear it or not, she would always tell you the way it was.

We will miss the Milo and Vegemite toast that was always on offer, the “hello love” when we arrived to see her, the lipstick marks left on our cheek from her kisses and the stories of shenanigans happening at Shannagolden.

We know each of you will miss her in your own way. Thank you all once again for honouring Nan’s life with your presence.

May we all continue to love deeply and see that love as a gift. We will close with a poem that has brought us comfort. We hope it does the same for you.

And as you would say Nan, “Bye Love”.