Eleanor Parr

On the evening of February 13, 2021 Vera “Eleanor” Parr of Broken Arrow died at the age of 91 and stepped into the presence of her Lord. Eleanor grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba where, in 1949, she married medical student Donald Campbell and over the next 20 years emigrated to the US, raised five kids, and created homes in six states, the last one being Norman, Oklahoma. In the 1970’s she earned her MBA at University of Oklahoma and began a career in financial services. She married Dr. Arnold Parr in 1978 and her family grew to include his three children. Norman was home for the next 40 years. She was an accomplished artist, creating beautiful sketches, sculptures, and paintings. She found ways to sometimes inject her irreverent and zany side into her work. A memorable piece is an acrylic rendering of two 1930’s era children frolicking in the snow on an idyllic New England bridge while an out of control coupe is roaring towards them… you had to see it. She was a world class cook and the homestead at 510 Merrywood Lane was the family’s center of gravity for decades. Many OU football game weekends started and ended at that cul-de-sac. Her love and care for her kids, grandkids, and friends provides many treasured memories. She faithfully cared for eldest son, Bruce during his battle with cancer in the 1980’s and modeled selfless love to all of us. In the past few years her world shrank a lot, but you could never assume she didn’t know what was going on and that she didn’t have an interesting comment. In August of 2019 she asked Jesus into her life and that was a joyous day. Eleanor is preceded in death by her parents Abraham Lincoln and Vera Wilkie, her brothers Theo and Jack Wilkie, husbands Dr. Donald Campbell and Dr. Arnold Parr, and son Bruce Campbell. She is survived by four children and three step-children: Dawn Campbell of Broken Arrow, Cheri Creedon and Scott Campbell of Norman, Glen Campbell of Fort Worth, Barbara and Barry Parr of Norman, and Gordon Parr of Glen Burnie, MD. Also, survivors include children’s spouses Farhad, Laura, Ronda, Phyllis, & Vivian and beloved grandkids Shera, Kevin, Nina, Abby, Attila, Ellie, Ian, Katie, Mary, Angela, Serena, & Kyle and great-grandkids Gracey, Grayson, Karrah, Kallen, Luke, Jacob, Tristan, Nevaeh & Rafael. She requested that she be cremated and that we not have a big fuss. Accordingly, she will be privately cremated this week and the family will conduct a “little fuss” this summer at a time and place still yet to be determined. We love you Mom, and we’ll see you on the other side.

Tributes

Eleanor Parr

August 14, 1929 - February 13, 2021