Dorothy Jean Parks was born on November 22, 1924 in Indianapolis Indiana. She grew up with two siblings, Jacquelin and Paul. They were later joined by cousins Patsy (Crenshaw}Wilson and Helen Gene (Crenshaw} Henderson. Sadly all of her childhood siblings preceded her in death.

Dorothy Jean was a lifelong learner. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Lincoln University in 1948 and her Masters in Education from Northeastern University in 1972. She continued taking classes in whatever piqued her interest. She was also fascinated by foreign languages and became fluent in three.

During her working career Dorothy Jean held many positions. In her early years she worked as a social worker. After receiving her Masters she became a teacher.

She was a free spirit and enjoyed traveling the world and living in different cities across the country. When she tired of a city she would pack up her car and drive until she found a place to settle and explore.

Dorothy Jean loved to read, paint, write poems and play any game that challenged her mind. Even at 101 she continued to play Scrabble weekly and participated in facility run games that challenged her knowledge and intelligence and was regularly the victor.

She is survived by a sister-in-law, Virginia W. Parks; three nieces, Emilie (Young) McLoud, Pamela (Parks} Mclaurin, and Stacey Parks Townsend; and two nephews Paul Parks Jr. and James Young, and six grand nieces and nephews.