Wes and the late Emily Parks, of West Plains, were “over the moon becoming grandparents,” shared their daughter, Michelle DeWitt, and they have loved every minute of it, offering to take the kids and grandkids out.
When it’s been just Wes, he has been known to take the grandkids to Skillets for breakfast. Wes and Emily also loved to take the whole family to Fred’s Fish House in Mammoth Spring.
Emily, before her death, “would craft her little heart out for the kiddos,” said DeWitt, and she would spoil all of the grandkids. DeWitt said one of her favorite memories of Emily is finding out, after she died, that she managed to finish Doctor Who pillowcases for grandson Caleb.
“We walked into her craft room and they were right there ready for him,” she recalled. “He cherishes them to this day.”
“Wes is always up for fun with the kids,” DeWitt said, adding he often takes them fishing, swimming, playing on his land, gardening, woodworking and brickworking. Wes is soon to be a great-grandparent. “Caleb and his wife Liz are having a baby at the end of this year,” said DeWitt. “I also love that Wes, Emily, heck the whole family took David, Caleb and Avery on as their own blood. Caleb and Avery are Dewitt’s husband David’s children from a previous marriage. “That didn't stop the love at all,” she said.
The Parks children were all born and raised in West Plains. Son Rob and his wife Amela and their children Melina and Magnus live in Kansas City, son Chris lives in St. Charles, daughter Melissa Alsup lives in West Plains with her husband Jarryd and their children Elizabeth and Norah, and the DeWitts and their children Orion, Sage, Avery and Caleb live in Seneca and Springfield.
