Berta Margarete Parker

On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, Berta Margarete Parker, loving wife and mother of four children, passed away peacefully at the age of 94.

Berta was born on February 12, 1927 in Augsburg, Germany to Wilhelm and Paulina (Egelhofer) Seibold. She was trained as a Jeweler in Germany, and apprenticed and learned goldsmithing once in the U.S.

She met her first husband Abel Valdez Vallejos in Germany in 1947 while he was serving as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. They married on May 4, 1948, and made the long trek from Germany to Bernalillo, New Mexico, a testament to her sense of adventure and her resilience. They raised three children, Dolores (Dodie), Paula, and Chris until their divorce in 1956. Berta became a naturalized U.S. citizen on April 28, 1952.

Berta met the love of her life, Richard Parker, a lifelong outdoorsman and owner of Dick Parker Construction. They married in 1961 and added another son, Klindt, to the family.  Together they fueled each other's passion for travel and adventure. She also loved her 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren whom she was deeply connected with and who helped her keep her youthful spirit alive.

Berta was a prolific artist. She was a highly skilled craftswomen and owned her own custom jewelry business. She also enjoyed painting, sewing, stained glass and doing anything creative with her hands. She was especially fond of Mexico, spending as much time as she could in Puerto Vallarta. She was fluent in German, Spanish and English. She was always up for anything but never left the house without lipstick on. She loved a good joke, spoiling her dogs, dancing at the German Club and hanging out with her girlfriends.  Berta never knew a stranger, and like it or not you had to have her sauerkraut.

Berta was preceded in death by her father, Wilhelm, mother Paula, brother Anselm, first husband, Abie Vallejos in 1975 and husband Dick Parker in August 2019. She is survived by her four children, Dodie, Paula, Chris and Klindt as well as her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She will be missed but leaves a rich legacy in those who knew her. There will be a small private memorial with immediate family only.

If you knew Berta, you know she would want you to dance a polka or do the "chicken dance" in her memory.