Daisy Susan Paris

Daisy S. Paris, 70, of Junction City, KS, passed away on September 19, 2022. Cremation will take place per her wishes.

March 20th… 1952. The first day of Spring.

Fort Riley Hospital…, a woman in bed, coping with childbirth. After nine months, a baby girl arrived into the world - Daisy. The third child of Henrietta and William Paris.

Daisy grew up at 135 Sunset Drive, a cozy and comfortable street in Junction City, which at the time had a population of only about 14,000. She was named after her maternal grandmother who had married a kind German American, Otto Schultz. In the years to come, Daisy spent holidays at her grandmother’s house on the northwest corner of 6th Street and N. Adams Street, a large Victorian style house.

The mother, Henrietta, was serious about Daisy becoming a proficient swimmer as a small child, and during the summers enrolled her in lessons at the city swimming pool, just two blocks from home. Her three brothers were also “forced” to take swimming lessons there, but all the kids in the family liked swimming anyway and all became capable swimmers. The city swimming pool and the stone Girl Scout House across the street, which is still there, were among her activity centers as a child.

In her bedroom on Sunset, Daisy had picture books with stories of Alice in Wonderland and other tales. Here, she would lie in seclusion, reading and listening to music, keeping her own company. Among the favorite of her numerous stuffed animals in the room was a little doggy with herringbone pattern eyes. She kept that puppy for years… It was precious. Where has it gone?

Daisy went to Lincoln Elementary School, for which she would have a life-long attachment. On weekends the family would utilize the school playgrounds and the city park near the pool, and she would walk in the hills adjacent to the school, long before the area became developed with buildings.
As she grew, Daisy and the family spent holidays with her aunt and uncle Josephine and Barney Harding at Whitney Road and West 8th Street, and would visit her aunt Jessie Prouty who lived in a large house, likely constructed in the late 1800s, on West Spruce, across from where the water tower is located. On Sunset Drive she played cowboys and Indians (she always chose being the Indian) inside and outside the house. She earned money by babysitting, and when going out for a bite to eat, Daisy enjoyed the Dairy Queen and the White Kitchen on Washington Street, and The Circle Chinese Restaurant on the corner of South Washington and East Ash.

Daisy graduated from St. Xavier in 1970, and as usual for many youths of the time, she became somewhat rebellious. A sign of the times. But even so, she never wavered in her love for family, and also took on the effort of caring for several of the family’s four-legged family members, both canines and felines, including the family’s much-loved German Shephard, Schultz, until he passed away in her home in Manhattan, KS, in the early ‘80s. She had a particular fondness for parrots, an influence from her mother.

As a young woman she spent time managing a hotel in a small mountain town in Colorado, and later learned the trade of flower arrangement in a little shop in Junction City on W. 7th Street near the Colonial Theater. Eventually she went to work in civil service at Fort Riley with housing services, driving her light-blue Volkswagen bug from her home in Manhattan. She also spent time at Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks, AK, continuing her work with the civil service.

In 1983, Daisy gave birth to her first child, Heather. Sons Charles and Phillip were born in 1990. Today, Heather and Phillip are working in Junction City, and Charles is located in Los Angeles.

One of the most important lasting aspects of personal legacy is how a person has touched the lives of others. And in this regard Daisy excelled. Importantly, she helped care for her father until he passed away in November of 1983, and for her mother, until she passed away in October of 2008. Daisy gave much loving care to both her parents and especially so during their most intense time of need and was a true, caring daughter.

It was not only during critical times of life that Daisy made an impact, but she did so on an everyday basis.

Daisy’s surviving loved ones include the following:

· Her daughter Heather Graham and grandchildren Alex and Zoe (Junction City, KS), and Marcus Graham (son-in-law; Junction City)
· Sons Charles Valentine (Los Angeles, CA) and Phillip Valentine (Junction City)
· O.J. Paris (brother, Manhattan, KS)
· Larry Paris and Christina Chang (brother and sister-in-law, Encinitas, CA)
· Bill and Cindy Paris (brother and sister-in-law, Santa Rosa, CA)
· Chris Paris (nephew, Santa Rosa, CA) and Emily deGrassi (niece, San Anselmo, CA)
· Richard Gage (soul mate, Canton, KS)
· Sister-in-law Linda Henderson (Junction City), niece Jamie Heilig (Knox, TX), and nephew Jason Paris (Manhattan)
· Suzanne Asbury (dear friend since 1988, Dwight, KS; thanks for all the cell phones)
· Phillip’s wife Sarah and children Victor and Emma (Junction City)

Even with her physical struggles later in life, she maintained a durable sense of humor, dearly loved the company of family and friends, and greatly appreciated the kindness of others. From the many people who loved her, we cherish her memory, and we will miss her smile. Speaking from the hearts of all those closest to her, dear Daisy was our sister, our mother, and our loved one.

We love you Daisy.

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