Diana Park

Heidi Park is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Diana Park.

Donation protected

Hello, my name is Heidi Park. I’m the daughter of John and Diana Park. I am seeking financial contributions to help my mom stay in her home long term after my dad’s passing.

Sadly, my dad (John Park of Park Avenue Agents) passed away on January 22nd 2023.

John was a life-long learner and passionate about his work, family, and friendships (business and personal).

In 2016, John sold the business his wife Diana had started in 1976. At that time, John had planned to continue working in the industry, without the added responsibility of owning a business. But just months after selling Park Avenue Agents, in April 2016, John suffered a major hemorrhagic stroke which left him paralyzed on his left side. Heidi and Diana were by John's side throughout his recovery. John never spent a night at the hospital alone. Once able (after three months on a ventilator), he turned his strong and influential drive to recovering from his stroke. This was a major uphill battle.

John wanted most of all to get back to work. Attending trade shows and traveling to see his customers was his utmost desire. But returning to the work John loved so much was not possible; he could do nothing without assistance. After getting some physical strength back, John was accepted into an inpatient recovery program at Seattle's University of Washington Medical clinic. This presented John with an amazing opportunity to work on speech, occupational, and physical therapies daily. After being there for a month, John's focus on recovery continued at home with the support and help of his family and caregivers. In May 2019, after a tremendous amount of hard work, John was able to walk his daughter Heidi down the aisle when she married her high school sweetheart.

John will always be remembered for his kindness, integrity, and strong work ethic. He is survived by his wife, Diana, and daughters Heidi and Shar.

After giving a charity much thought, we have come to the realization that John’s widow Diana Park needs to be the beneficiary of any charitable contributions you may want to give. John’s stroke was unexpected; he had planned to work for at least another decade to continue saving for retirement. Instead, he was forced into retirement in April of 2016 and required care that drained the family’s retirement funds. For five years, the Parks were able to keep John at home, with the help of an amazing team of daytime caregivers, and with Heidi and Diana taking turns on overnight care. Once COVID hit, they chose to let the caregivers go to keep the family safe. This left Heidi and Diana there around the clock.

Keeping John at home was feasible until August of 2021, when he began needing more care. John then moved into a nearby adult family home where he lived out his remaining time, with frequent visits and outings with his family. As you may imagine, adult family homes are very costly. The Parks were not able to get Medicaid assistance until John’s retirement funds were exhausted, which left Diana with very little savings to cover her basic needs. We appreciate any help in our efforts to keep Diana in the home she and John purchased in 1986.

Donate