In Memory Of Pam Parks

By Jason Cheung, University Pizzeria General Manager

 On January 9th, Pam Parks, a treasured member of the Pagliacci Family, passed away. Pam started here at the University Pizzeria on December 1st, 1981 as part of the University of Washington’s Job training program for people with disabilities, and while she was here she was named the 1992 Washington State Restaurant Association Worker of the Year. I vividly remember the first time I met Pam. I had just been promoted to General Manager of the University Pizzeria, leaving behind a crew that I had grown to love while training at our Queen Anne Pizzeria. I met Derrick Aiona, my District Manager here at the shop to get the keys to “my” new store, and while he was showing me around, Pam came to the front door and gave the 3 little knocks that she always gave to let me know that she was there. I let her in and Derrick introduced us. Right away I took a liking to her, (how could you not?) and her eternally sunny attitude was a godsend that first year as I adjusted to “being the boss”. She took great delight in reminding me to turn on the ovens after one terrible week when we forgot to turn them on….twice. It got better when she met my then girlfriend (and now wife), Amber. Every day after that, Pam would ask how she was doing, and on Wednesday, when the flowers were changed for the coming week she always kept one and asked that I take it home to Amber. I thought that she was just doing it for me, but I found out at her service that she did the same for Jeff Woodruff, our Director of Operations, who briefly worked here. We had a good laugh about that! I’ll also always think about how much Pam loved children. She always made a point of going over and saying hi to them when they came in. After she retired I took my son to visit her and she could hardly take her eyes off of him. She loved seeing him and gave him a bracelet before we left. Even now, occasionally people will come in and ask about the “little girl” that used to work here. I am sure that they would be shocked to know that she was in her 40’s when I worked with her, as she certainly did not look like it! I’m proud to tell them that I used to work with her and that she had a long, satisfying tenure here. Without fail, they always comment about how happy she looked and that she had such a great, smiling attitude. Rest in Peace, Pam. You are missed.