FORT SMITH — Rebecca Bivens Parke,

of Fort Smith, Ark., beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, unexpectedly departed this life on March 26, 2022, at Heber Springs. She was 69 years old.

Rebecca was born on November 27, 1952, in Little Rock. She was preceded in death by her parents, William Henry Bivens and Jean Bittle Bivens.

She is survived by Stephen Parke, her devoted husband and companion for 37 years; her daughter, Laura Elizabeth Brantmeier of Rogers; granddaughters, Parker Grace and Elizabeth Brantmeier (to whom she was affectionately known as “Meme”); sister, Jananne Bivens Reding (David) of Little Rock; sisters-in-law Linda Alderson (Les) of Tucson, Ariz., and Kathryn Parke (Susan Marchant) of Pittsburg, Kan.; and numerous cousins and nephews.

Rebecca held a Master’s Degree in Health Occupations from the University of Arkansas and she taught school for a period of time. She and Stephen were married in 1984 and the two of them were an active and positive presence in the Fort Smith community and at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Rebecca’s steadfast love for Stephen, Laura, her granddaughters, her sister Jananne, and her entire extended family was unwavering and indivisible. Her warmth, graciousness, and tenderness sustained her loved ones through good times and bad. There can be strength in gentleness. Rebecca was the proof of that.

Rebecca was a rock. She was a fount of generosity, integrity, and kindness, and the recognition of this makes the void left by her untimely passing exceptionally acute. As a woman of deep faith, however, she would want life to go on for those who will miss her so deeply. And so we go forth, thanking God for the all too brief time we had with her here on earth, with gratitude that he lent His precious Rebecca Bivens Parke to us.

A memorial service will be held at the First Christian Church of Fort Smith on Tuesday, April 5th, at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts in Rebecca’s name be made at the giver’s discretion to the First Christian Church or to any of these other ministries serving the least among us that were close to her heart: Hope Campus homeless ministry, World Central Kitchen, World Food Programme USA, River Valley Food Bank, or to any charity committed to the welfare of animals.

The family is being served by Olmstead Funeral Home of Heber Springs.The online Tribute Wall may be signed at www.olmstead.cc.