MANCHESTER, N.H. — A grieving father wrote an honest obituary after his daughter died of a heroin overdose.
Tom Parks says he hopes his daughter’s obituary highlights the dangers of drug addiction and encourages others who are fighting similar battles to find help.
Parks’ daughter, 24-year-old Molly Parks, was found in the restroom at her job with a needle stuck in her arm.
Molly went through three stints in rehab last year, according to The Washington Post.
Her father thought she was finally getting better after she got a job delivering pizza, where she worked 55 hours a week.
“She was here last Monday and she looked great,” Tom Parks told The Post. “But it’s so hard, of course, and she got sucked back in.”
After Molly’s death, Tom Parks turned to Facebook to talk about his child’s struggle with addiction.
“I’m not looking for sympathy but I want people to know that our lives are made up of the choices we make and for some death is a matter of choice too. My daughter Molly Parks made many good choices in her too short life and she made some bad choices. She tried to fight addiction in her own way and last night her fight came to an end in a bathroom of a restaurant with a needle of heroin. Her whole family tried to help her win the battle but we couldn’t show her a way that could cure her addiction. We will always love her and miss her. If you have a friend or a relative who is fighting the fight against addiction please do everything you can to be supportive. Maybe for your loved one it’ll help. Sadly for ours it didn’t. I hope my daughter can now find the peace that she looked for here on earth.”
His Facebook post eventually turned into a similar truthful obituary.
“Molly Alice Parks, age 24, who most currently resided in Manchester, NH, passed away in Manchester on April 16, 2015 as the result of a heroin overdose.
She was born in York, Maine on March 13, 1991, a daughter of Tom and Patti (Michaud) Parks.
Molly graduated from Old Orchard Beach High School in 2009 and attended one year at SMCC until her addiction took over. Most recently, she was employed as a delivery driver for Portland Pie Co. in Manchester, NH. She enjoyed theater, fashion, reading – especially Harry Potter, and will always be remembered for fearless personality and her trademark red lipstick. Along Molly’s journey through life, she made a lot of bad decisions including experimenting with drugs. She fought her addiction to heroin for at least five years and had experienced a near fatal overdose before. Molly’s family truly loved her and tried to be as supportive as possible as she struggled with the heroin epidemic that has been so destructive to individuals and families in her age bracket.
She is survived by her parents- Tom Parks and his wife Pat Noble of Saco and Patti Michaud Parks of Berlin, NH; sister- Kasey Parks of OOB; step siblings- Dustin and Delayna Denicourt of Biddeford; maternal grandparents- Rita and Raymond Michaud of Berlin, NH; paternal grandmother- Ruth Parks of OOB; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and a niece.
If you have any loved one’s who are fighting addiction, Molly’s family asks that you do everything possible to be supportive, and guide them to rehabilitation before it is too late.”
Since writing the obituary, Parks told The Post many people from around the country have thanked him for sharing the story of his family’s struggle with his daughter’s addiction.
