In Loving Memory of Leslie Parks

THE WOODLANDS – Dr. Leslie Parks, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Woodlands OB Gyn Associates who brought countless lives into the community, died Tuesday while vacationing with her family in Telluride, Colo. At 38 years old, Parks already had introduced about 4,000 babies to the world before she left it. The cause of Parks’ death has not been determined. Her husband Scott Finley is awaiting a coroner’s report. Parks was not feeling well on the trip. They believed it was altitude sickness, which also was affecting the rest of the family to a lesser degree, Finley said. But on Tuesday morning, he found his wife not breathing and without a heartbeat. CPR did not bring her back.

Finley said their 2-year old twins, Virginia and Lucas, are not yet old enough to comprehend what has happened to their mother. “I had such a little amount of time to know her – only four years,” Finley said. “But I feel truly privileged to have had that.” Finley said he’d miss her sense of humor, which was so sharp that she joked on their April 1 wedding day, saying, “I don’t think I can do this,” instead of “I do,” before shouting “April fools!” “We lived life to the fullest together, and she was an amazing woman,” Finley said. Finley said Parks wasn’t just a doctor to her patients – about 4,000 were actively seeing her – she was their friend as well.

Maria Sala, who had been Parks’ patient for more than two years, said this was true. “She helped me when I lost my baby to miscarriage,” she said. “She worked with me to get through that hard time, and I left her office with a smile on my face that day because of how she treated me.” Another patient, Tina Reyna, said Parks “truly cared” about her patients. “I’m really saddened by this,” Reyna said. “I think of her every day – every time I look at my kids, who she delivered. I can’t even express in words what a good person she was.” Parks’ attitude about her work affected not only her patients, but her partners as well.

“We shared so many life experiences together,” said her partner, Dr. Jenna Everson. Everson delivered Parks’ twins, and Parks was present when Everson gave birth to her son. “She was so beyond being my partner; she was a best friend and one of the most outgoing, upbeat people. Her life was always full of joy, and she just made coming to work and getting through the day worthwhile,” Everson said. Dr. Marra Francis, one of Parks’ personal friends and former co-workers, said what she’ll miss most is her laugh. “Her laugh just filled the room, and if you heard it you couldn’t help but laugh along even if you didn’t know what was funny,” Francis said. “That laugh is going to be missed.”

A memorial service will start at 11 a.m. Wednesday at The Woodlands United Methodist Church, located at 2200 Lake Woodlands Drive in The Woodlands. As Finley is a stay-at-home father, in lieu of flowers, the family is accepting donations to the Leslie Parks-Finley Memorial Fund, with proceeds to go to the children’s upbringing. The Courier of Montgomery County

Exuberant, spontaneous, adventurous, caring, a collector of friends-all words to describe Leslie Hunt Parks-Finley. Born September 8, 1970 in St. Louis, Missouri to Hubbard and Karen Parks, "Dr. Leslie" died unexpectedly on Nov. 25, 2008 while on a family vacation in Telluride, Colorado. A 1988 graduate of MacArthur High School in San Antonio, Leslie received her BS from Southwestern University in 1993 and her medical degree in 1997 from Oklahoma State College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and returned "home" to Texas to open her practice in The Woodlands.

Not a dreamer but a doer, Leslie lived life with fierceness and passion. She loved to travel and regaled us all with her escapades around the world-whether it was scuba diving in Mexico , swimming with sharks and feeding baby elephants in Thailand or jumping out of airplanes "just because" Leslie lived life to the fullest. Her glass was never half full, it was overflowing. She loved pedicures, the Houston Stock Show and Rodeo, stray animals, plain folks, her patients and her colleagues. But most of all she loved her family.

Leslie leaves behind her beautiful, two-year-old twins, Virginia Hubbard Finley and Lucas Young Finley, and her husband Robert Scott Finley. She is survived by her parents, Hubbard and Karen Parks, her sister and brother-in-law, Allison and Michael Burkey, and their daughters Ella and Faith Burkey.