Laquinta Estelle Cooper Parker

LaQuinta Estelle Cooper Parker, 85, was a fearless fighter.

Born in Herbine, Arkansas, on September 13, 1931, to Earl and Ida Caroline Wells Hall Cooper, Estelle was the youngest of eight children. Born prematurely, her mother and sister placed hot bricks around her bed to keep her warm and alive. It worked as she thrived into a spirited girl who loved pretending to be Wonder Woman or Batman, depending on the day, during World War II with her nephew, Rex Hollis.

Estelle - or Stell as she was known to her family - attended Rison High School where she was a cheerleader. She often said that her years as a cheerleader was the highlight of her life. After she graduated from high school in 1950, she worked at several jobs including in the Cleveland County clerk's office and the county's health department.

In 1957, Estelle's life dramatically changed when Billy Parker, who she had known since grade school, re-entered her life after his service in the Korean War and the California oil fields. Billy had always admired Estelle although she always joked she didn't have time for boys. In high school, every day after class, he would buy her a Grapette soda and a bag of peanuts. But when he reappeared in 1957, he swept her off her feet in a whirlwind romance. They were married on Nov. 9, 1957.

During the 1960s, Billy and Estelle traveled extensively through the country, living a glamorous life filled with interesting people, swanky nightclubs and crazy near-death experiences. In 1969, after 13 years of marriage, Billy and Estelle had a daughter, Susan Caroline, who they dubbed their "miracle baby."

Estelle became a full-time mom, immersing herself in every aspect of her daughter from PTA mom in grade school to becoming a surrogate mother to Suzi's friends who needed love and care. She was also her daughter's relentless defender when bullies attacked her child and also her continuous cheerleader.

Once when training wheels fell off Suzi's bicycle as a child, she panicked. "What do I do?" Suzi asked. "Keep peddling," Estelle said. That's a life lesson that Suzi still channels when times become tough and unbearable.

Always a lover of music - she even played with Johnny Cash as a child when he visited his relatives in Cleveland County, Estelle became a massive fan of 80s new wave and punk music because of Suzi. She loved Duran Duran and in 2012 met the band when she and her daughter were invited as special guests to a show by the band.

Because of Estelle and Suzi's friendship and fierce demeanor, Billy began calling the pair "Thelma and Louise" in the early 1990s. Those nicknames stuck, and many people knew the mother-daughter pair as Thelma and Louise. (Estelle was Thelma, Suzi is Louise.) They loved red lipstick and roadtrip adventures that Suzi, who is a journalist and author, would chronicle.

When Estelle was diagnosed with lung cancer in May, she opted out of a biopsy and chemo. Fearless, until the end, she faced her illness with elegance, humor and fierceness until her death on Sunday, Aug. 27.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Billy Parker; her mother, Ida Caroline Wells Hall Cooper; her father, Earl Hamilton Cooper and seven brothers and sisters; Gordon Cooper, Pebble Holderfield, Edna Crutchfield, Jim Cooper, Pauline Crutchfield, Ernest Cooper and Oneita Owen. She is survived by her daughter, Suzi Parker, and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 30, at Rison United Methodist Church. Visitation will start at 1 p.m. prior to the service at the church. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Rison.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Buie Funeral Home in Rison. Please sign the online guestbook at www.buiefuneralhome.com . (870)325-6216