Elinor (Elin) Gudger Parks

Elinor (Elin) Gudger Parks

Elinor (Elin) Gudger Parks passed away peacefully on April 3, 2019 in Woodstock, Vermont. Elin was born in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 1920, to Emmet and Genevieve Gudger. She graduated with a degree in Archeology from Mount Holyoke College. She began modeling while attending college and continued to do so until she married Jim Parks in 1945. Jim worked for KLM, then Mobil Oil, which took them overseas for seventeen years. They lived in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Congo, Ghana, Morocco, then Mexico City where they lived for 10 years. Elin was deeply involved in charity work in every country she lived in.

Elin was always the life of the party and was fond of a good joke or a bawdy limerick. A close friend said, “Elin was one of a kind. We loved her and her broad sense of humor as well as her endless backlog of fascinating stories.”

A master bridge player, she also loved showing and teaching the children her many card tricks. She was known for her love of antique fans, and was often called upon to give lectures on her impressive collection. She and Jim were also avid golfers.

For most of her life Elin spent summers with her family in Glacier National Park at the cabin built by her grandfather, Montana’s U.S. Senator Thomas Walsh. She is remembered fondly by her daughter Dana’s generation for arranging elaborate plays, puppet shows, and circuses for all of the neighborhood children.

Elin was predeceased by her husband of fifty-six years, Jim, her son Robert, and her younger sister, Gloria MacArthur.

She is survived by her daughter Dana Wright, son-in-law William Wright, daughter-in-law Eleanor Parks, and four grandchildren: Kevin, Eric, and Julia Wright, and Michael Parks.

There will be a celebration of her life on Thursday, July 18, at the Park View Pavilion in West Glacier.

For details please email Dana at willdana88@gmail.com or call her at 802-457-4843.