“She had a lot of friends from everywhere. She would help them one way or another. She just had the knack.” — Jim Meeks
Anyone who walked into Parkesdale Farm Market walked out a friend of Cheryl Parke Meeks.
For 40 years, Mrs. Meeks, the daughter of strawberry farmers Roy and Helen Parke greeted local customers and newcomers with bright smile.
“How are you? I’m so happy to meet you,” she would say.
The co-owner, who was as sweet as the market’s famous strawberry milkshakes, died Saturday, Nov. 21, at age 70.
“Everybody loved her,” Jim Meeks, her husband, said. “I didn’t know anybody that didn’t like her. That was Cheryl.”
The couple met when they were living on Davis Island. Mrs. Meeks was working as a reservationist for Delta Airlines. Jim Meeks was her downstairs neighbor. After hearing her make a commotion, Jim Meeks went upstairs to talk to her. They were together for a little over 50 years and married for 49.
“That’s a long time to be with one person,” Jim Meeks said.
Jim and Mrs. Meeks took over Parkesdale Farm Market in the 1970s and expanded the business both in size and in products.
“We started out just the two of us, and we grew every day,” Jim Meeks said.
As the business grew, so did the number of customers — and Mrs. Meeks knew them all.
“She was good at it,” Jim Meeks said. “She had a lot of friends from everywhere. She would help them one way or another. She just had the knack.”
As she got older, Mrs. Meeks dealt with depression. Though she was outgoing and loved her friends, family and customers, she could get down for up to two or three weeks at a time.
“It’s a pretty rough disease,” Jim Meeks said. “It destroys your attitude.”
But Mrs. Meeks’ smile and friendly demeanor are what Parkesdale customers and her family remember best. Her granddaughter, Zoe, described her as a woman with “a beautiful heart, soul and face.”
“We did everything together,” Jim Meeks said. “If you met her, you’d never forget her. I’ll never forget her.”
Mrs. Meeks is survived by her husband, Jim Meeks; son, Jim Meeks III, and his wife, Xiomara; grandchildren, Zoe and Piper Meeks; mother, Helen Parke; siblings, Sandee Sytsma (Hank), Bobby Parke (Peggy), Colleen Fulton (Terry) and Gari Parke (Terri); and many other nieces, nephews, family and friends.
A visitation was held for family and friends Wednesday, Nov. 25, at Hopewell Funeral Home in Plant City.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.