“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Surrounded by family, Jody Gumlia Parker died peacefully at her home in Indian Wells, CA, on May 3, 2024. She lived 92 amazing years, and it was only her body that finally gave way to God’s call. Her spirit, her faith, her love for family and friends, and her ability “to connect” people were strong until the very end.
Jolanda Lynn Folson was born to Aldis and Leonard Folson on April 10, 1932, in Hoople, ND, a small town in the Red River Valley, a rich farming area that straddles the border of Northern North Dakota and Minnesota. She was valedictorian at Grand Forks Central High School, graduating in three years, before spending one year at Carleton College and graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1954 from the University of Minnesota. It was there she would meet legendary golf coach Les Bolstad, who planted the seeds for what would later become a remarkable golf career and influence on her family.
Jody started her career as an English teacher in Crookston, MN, another farming town of 9,000 residents about 25 miles from the North Dakota border. She dated Glenn Gumlia, a star athlete out of Hamline University, who she met several years prior. During that time, she was crowned North Dakota’s Potato Queen and the Cherry Blossom Princess, in Washington, D.C., in 1955. Jody and Glenn married that year, and while he started a successful local business, Jody founded a City Hostess Program to welcome new residents to Crookston. Early on, she showed her propensity for the gift of hospitality, which she shared generously with others throughout her entire life. Glenn and Jody lovingly raised three children – Leonard, Julie, and Roxy – whom they cherished and considered their highest priority and most important accomplishment in life.
Jody’s life took on a new dimension in 1962 when her only sibling, Dennis died young, leaving the 2,500-acre family farm outside Hoople to Jody’s care. Once a week, Jody would drive the 150 miles roundtrip to Hoople to oversee the operation. In 1972, she leased out the farm and created Folson-Gumlia, Inc., a highly successful potato brokerage company. Jody became a successful businesswoman before it was commonplace for women to be in business. She did this all from her kitchen table while never missing any of her three kids school and sports activities. Jody was also chosen by a U.S. Senator (ND: Milton Young) to lobby in Washington on behalf of the Red River Valley Potato Grower’s Association, and in honor of her brother, was proud to co-found “Glenmore,” an alcohol recovery facility in Crookston.
For decades, Jody played competitive golf in Minnesota, and nationally. She won numerous tournaments, including the prestigious Minnesota State Women’s Amateur Championship in 1969. Under her guidance and direction, all three of her kids fell in love with the game, and spent most of their summers together on the golf course. They all played competitively with great success, which launched the media phenomenon known as the “Golfing Gumlias.” Golf was a defining identity for the family in the 1970s: Leonard set the stage with early high school success; Julie became the youngest state champion in history at age 14, going on to win several more state, collegiate and national tournaments; and Roxy would go on to play golf for Stanford University.
By 1975, Glenn and Jody had moved to Edina, a suburb outside Minneapolis where Jody continued her interest in alcohol recovery services, serving on several boards, including the Johnson Institute. She went on to serve as the finance chairperson for Wheelock Whitney’s run for governor in Minnesota in 1982, and she hosted the largest fundraiser for Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz who served his state for many years.
Jody’s 30-year marriage to Glenn ended in 1985, and she eventually decided to follow her children to California, where they had all settled with their families. She moved to the Palm Springs area and eventually met and in 1993 married Richard (“Dick”) Parker, a World War II Air Force veteran who flew numerous missions over France during and after D-Day. Jody and Dick settled at The Vintage Club in Indian Wells where they played golf and tennis together and developed a wide range of cherished friends. They continually hosted family and friends, and traveled extensively. Their only fight was, “Who is the luckiest? They enjoyed 14 wonderful years together, before Dick’s passing in 2006.
A curious intellectual, Jody was a lifelong learner attending numerous conferences, writing festivals, and frequent Apple Genius Bar learning sessions. Her passions grew as she evolved and she was actively involved in fundraising and served on advisory boards for several of her favorite university athletic, business, nursing, and hospitality programs, in addition to many other charitable organizations.
Jody’s faith was her guiding light since she was a young girl. She was immersed in countless church organizations throughout her entire life, befriending and guiding numerous pastors and their families, as well as supporting many Christian organizations including Hope Lutheran Church (Palm Desert), Guideposts, Rev. Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral, Dr. David Jeremiah’s Turning Point, Links International, and many more.
Despite all her interests and activities, Jody’s highest priority was being an involved mom and grandmother. As a grandmother, she was “Jo-Jo” to some, “Grandma Jody” to others, and was adored by all of them, a number that reached six by 2003 (James, Kimi, Drew, Matt, Katie, Ryan). She attended their birthdays, sporting events, school plays, and debates. It was not uncommon for her to drive 90 miles to watch a grandson play a hockey game, sitting freezing inside a cold ice arena. She would even sit intently from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at a middle school debate. She traveled across the country to watch her granddaughters play water polo matches, and watch grandsons play golf and baseball – where “JoJo brought the good luck mojo.” Her grandchildren could always count on her being in the stands for them, both in sports and in life, as her stamina in support of her entire family was inexhaustible.
Nicknamed “The Connector,” Jody packed more into 24 hours than at times seemed humanly possible. With her incredibly welcoming nature, inviting an eclectic group of 16 strangers to a dinner party and connecting them by night’s end as newfound friends was a common occurrence. Her encouragement to others to join her at church or speaking engagements, her love for teeing it up after 5 p.m. for nine more holes of golf, her opening questions to engage guests around her warmly decorated dining room table, and all the crazy Ole and Lena jokes she shared were memories her friends will carry for a lifetime.
Jody, our mom, will be missed dearly. There is so much we will miss but especially her positive encouragement and energetic attitude toward life. She leaves behind a huge void, yet, how blessed are we to call her “our mom.” Her giving and loving spirit and her legacy, lives on in all of us.
At the end of the day, life is all about making a difference. Our mom did just that, and had an impact on countless lives. We have no doubt that she was greeted in heaven with the words, “Well done my faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
A private family service will be held in July in Southern California, followed by a Memorial Service to celebrate Jody’s life in mid-November 2024 at Hope Lutheran Church, Palm Desert and the Vintage Club in Indian Wells, CA.