Our family is Christal,Mark,Matthew,Michele and Kimberly. A very active family engaged in nursing, real estate,dental,massage,computers,singing and motorcycling.  Christal went to be with her heavenly father on July 27,2004. See Allen Parks page for 2 additional family members added to the above.

Article about Sandy and Allen Published 2001

Mama Turtle - Sandy Parks, surrogate mother for the  Turtle Creek Chorale - Like No Other Sound On Earth

Mama Turtle Sandy Parks,

...As a Turtle Creek Chorale member-at-large, Sandy Parks often acts as a surrogate mother to TCC members. Her duties include organizing the Chorale's extracurricular activities like recruiting volunteers for the Black Tie Dinner and planning the annual Christmas party. "Members-at-large are responsible for getting everything together and just seeing that the function is carried out, from the scheduling to coordinating the meals to oversee all the sound equipment. Just seeing that everything gets there and gets done," Parks explains. Parks became involved with the Chorale in 1995, after husband became a singing member. Yep, she and her husband Allen are a couple of bonafide heterosexuals who delight in giving back to the community, specifically, the gay community.

"And Allen has been with the Chorale ever since," beams Sandy. "There have been very few straight members in the past, but Allen has been there the longest and has been the most involved. The two of us have been the most involved in the history of the Chorale. And I'm the first female straight officer elected to the chorale."

Parks says being elected as a member-at-large felt wonderful. "Because it really was a validation of my feelings for the guys and theirs for me. Because I'm more comfortable with the guys in the Chorale and the people at Cathedral of Hope. And we feel like we really belong more in the gay community than in the straight community."

On top of her involvement with the Chorale and Cathedral of Hope, the Parks have also, for the past three years, crewed for the Tanqueray Texas AIDS Ride. Allen works the kitchen and Sandy is a caboose driver who follows behind the last rider. Why would a busy straight woman, who works as a property management assistant and a Realtor, spend a large portion of her free time ensconced in all these gay activities?

"We enjoy it. My daughter had said that she felt like her father and I had found a real purpose and meaning for our lives for what we do. It's something we feel very strongly about, and this is just our way of making a contribution and making a statement," Sandy says. It seems that the Parks are on a mission to do whatever they can to reduce intolerance and bigotry when it comes to gay people. But Sandy's inspiration for this mission is rather unique.

Sandy didn't go to college until after she had four children. And when she was 35 years old, she graduated from college, landed her first job and filed for divorce (from her first husband) all in the same week. But because of the divorce, her biological family rejected her.

"They told people that their daughter was dead, that they didn't have a daughter. And I was an only daughter, so I personally know the bias, the rejection that so many in the community feel," she explains. "And I was working through all that when Kimberly came out to us."

When Allen first started singing in the Chorale, he came home one night in tears, upset because somebody in the Chorale had just been thrown out of the their house by their family because he had come out to them. The Parks were very moved and upset from hearing about such an appalling story. Since then, they've been acting like surrogate parents to many lost and spurned sheep in the gay community. For the past three years, they've had a chorale member live at their house.

"He just needed a place to live," Sandy says. "Allen and I once discussed getting a smaller house, but Allen said we couldn't do that. He said that we always have to have a spare room in case someone in the Chorale was put out by their family and needed a home." Sandy says she also talks to other parents who are coming to grips with their children's homosexuality.

"Sometimes it's awkward for the parents to talk because they have all of this that they need to work through. They can hear what I have to say and I can answer questions that they might have, but they still have got to work through this and they're thinking, 'My child is gay. And here's this woman telling me it's okay. What's wrong with this picture?'" When the Chorus is singing, Sandy can be found selling CDs at their events.

END OF ARTICLE

AND NOW:

Allen suffered a severe staff infection in 2007 requireing back surgery with sixteen screws and a prolonged hospital stay. This required him to give up singing. He and Sandy gave up the two story house and moved to a senior living facility. Sandy taught him to crochet and you will find the rest of the story at:  http://grannysandys.com  

Contact us saparks@swbell.net . Please call if you wish 214-678-0553.  Thank you for your visit.

Allen and Sandy Parks