Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Sep. 20--BLOOMINGTON -- Pat Parmenter refuses to let a stroke slow her down.
Despite being hospitalized for 16 days in late 2004, the 70-year-old Bloomington resident keeps a blistering pace of volunteer work.
"I'm busy and I like it that way," said Parmenter, known to many as the "Cookie Lady" for her habit of passing out cookies where she volunteers. She can't swing a hammer to help Habitat for Humanity, but she can bake.
Ashley Graber, volunteer coordinator for Habitat, said Parmenter has found what she's good at and uses it to serve the community.
"I will continue as long as I'm on this earth," Parmenter said. "God put us here for a reason and we need to help our fellow man."
Determined that her stroke doesn't keep her on the sidelines, she wants fellow stroke victims to know "you don't have to be a couch potato." Couch potatoes, after all, don't rise at 6 a.m. for a day of volunteering.
"I'm not one to look at all I can't do," Parmenter said.
A recent weekend saw her volunteering at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts until nearly midnight and getting up early the next morning to attend St. Luke Union Church, where she sings in the choir and brings cookies.
Other volunteer work includes answering phones at Faith in Action, which provides a variety of assistance to seniors, and helping at RSVP (Retired Seniors Volunteer Program).
She also sews costumes for Community Players. "It (the sewing) is a little harder (after the stroke), but I love to sew," she said.
She had a final thought:
"I want to be busy."
Pat Parmenter
Age: 70
Residence: Bloomington
Claim to fame: Cookie lady
Hero: Eleanor Roosevelt. "I admired the way she gave of herself to others."
Hobbies: Reading historical novels
Family: Five grown children
SOURCES: Pat Parmenter; Ashley Graber, volunteer coordinator, Habitat for Humanity; Compiled by Bob Holliday
-----
Copyright (c) 2006, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
