Daisy Yolanda Romero Park

August 4, 1942 - December 19, 2011

Daisy Yolanda Romero Park of Cooperstown and Boca Grande, Florida, died unexpectedly on December 19, 2011 at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown.

Born in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on August 4, 1942, Daisy was the daughter of the late Juan and Virginia (Rosado) Romero. Sent to the mainland United States as a young child to be educated, Daisy attended a convent school in Poughkeepsie, New York, from which she was graduated in 1960. She was married to Robert T. Park at St. John the Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, on September 16, 1961. She made her home and raised her young family in Brooklyn before moving to Cherry Valley in 1978 and to Cooperstown in 1988.

In Cooperstown, Daisy was employed as a Housekeeper and Governess, first as Housekeeper for the late Mrs. Bradley Goodyear at Cary Mede in Springfield Center and the late Dorothy Bostwick Campbell at Leatherstocking Farm, Cooperstown. In 1980 she became Housekeeper for the late W. T. Sampson and Judith Johnston Smith at Guy Cottage on Otsego Lake. Daisy was a dear and faithful friend to Mrs. Smith until the latter’s death in 1994, whereupon she moved on to assist the third and fourth generations of the Campbell/Smith family as Housekeeper and Governess for Michael and Cory Smith Moffat and their children at Maresfield Farm in Middlefield. She remained in that position until her death, a total of 32 years with that family. During these years she also handled the household management of the late Reverend Canon George and Mrs. Susan French at the Christ Church Rectory in Cooperstown. Daisy was well known and much loved by a great many people in both Cooperstown and her winter home in Boca Grande, particularly by the many children whose lives she touched as caregiver, teacher, playmate and friend.

Daisy had a deep and enduring love and pride for her children and her children’s children, as well as for the entirety of her extended family and friends, and she was a close and treasured companion of all those she held dear. She was an avid reader with a profound appreciation of writers, books and libraries. Her beautiful gardens bloomed with an endless promise of spring and she was eternally fearless of the approaching autumn. She was quietly fluent in history, literature, popular culture and current affairs, with a natural affinity for both political and financial intrigue. Hers was a life where wisdom transcended judgement, decorum resisted impulse, and intelligence, love and faith were the watchwords of a remarkable woman and of a life well lived.

Daisy is survived by her beloved children, Yolanda A. Park, Kathleen E. Park, Robert T. Park, Jr., Ellen Park, Chad Park and Sabra Cawley, her sister Carmen “Nellie” Roman, brothers Victor Romero and Jose Romero and 14 half-siblings. She is also survived by her loving grandchildren, Zachary T. Woodbury, George E. Woodbury, Jessica R. Park and Rene G. Grundborg, as well as numerous and proudly loved cousins, nieces and nephews. Her loving and faithful attention will also survive her in the grateful hearts of Alexander S. B. Moffat, Campbell D. Moffat and Lillian S. Moffat and all of the children of their generation who will carry her memory forever.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her brother Juan Romaro.

In recognition of Daisy’s lifelong love of learning and devotion to children, her family has established the Daisy Y. Park Memorial Scholarship Fund at The Brookwood School in Cooperstown, the proceeds of which shall be awarded in perpetuity by the Brookwood School to provide annual scholarships to children in need. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Daisy Y. Park Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o The Brookwood School, 687 County Route 59, Cooperstown, New York, 13326. Donations may also be made to The Island School, Post Office Box 1090, Boca Grande, Florida, 33921 or to the Johann Fust Community Library, Post Office Box 309, Boca Grande, Florida, 33921.

Funeral arrangements, under the direction of Connell, Dow and Deysenroth in Cooperstown, and internment in the family plot at Lakewood Cemetery, Cooperstown, will be private and at the discretion of the family.


If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers, or call them at (607) 547-8822.