Kevin

Fun fact - he tried to legally change his name to KP. It got denied but he was going to apply again. He literally wanted his name to be KP Parks! That's just the kind of guy he was. (smile)

I've heard lots of stories of who he WAS, but I will tell you who he IS (to me).

KP was larger than life, a free spirit, adventurous and FUNNY AS HELL. But he also was sensitive. His heart was on his sleeve. And that meant he had lots of feelings about a LOT of things particularly surrounding family. We went to individual and couples counseling to address some of these feelings. He had a wounded response to some feelings, and when you're wounded you respond with an attack. But that's not where he wanted to live. Like me, he had a desire to live in the sunshine and ultimately that's what I believe attracted us to each other. We laughed, we joked, we danced, we sang, we played video games. Some of it was very innocent. And he was very comfortable in the innocence of our connection.

When we got engaged, I asked him "what scares you the most about our relationship?" and he said "that I need to grow up". After that, he would sometimes work 7 days a week, he worked on TRULY connecting with his daughter, he mended as many relationships as he could and worked on reconnecting with family, he did all of the homework from counseling, and he wrote poetry. Our road was not without bumps, but every time I thought to give up he showed me that I could believe in him, and in us. He WANTED a family and he gave everything he could to maintain it. I never expected perfection, just effort, and he gave 1000%.

But let me tell you the most impressive thing about KP...his friends!!! He had some of the best friends I've ever seen! Now let me be clear, he had some family that would go through hell and high water for him, but his friends did too! They showed up and showed out! I got so many messages from people that grew up with, went to school with, played pool with, hand danced with, worked with, or simply hung out with him...it was AMAZING. I'll never make that many friends in my lifetime!! LOL! Neighbors approached me with stories about him. Some of the helped me walk Kruz (our dog) after the stroke because I was working and back and forth to the hospital. I still get messages from his friends checking in on me (I'm writing this in September). In my widows support group, so many of them speak about being forgotten. That is not my story and that is a testament to the man my husband was and the friends he chose to have in his life.

From 2021 to 2025, he gave me an amazing ride. I'm sad it's over but what a ride it was! I felt loved, honored, appreciated, beautiful, desirable, respected and cared for. It wasn't perfect, but it was PERFECT. I pray that everyone gets or keeps that feeling.