Lyllye Reynolds-Parker, a well-loved member of the Eugene community, died Thursday night. The news was shared by her niece in a Facebook post.
Reynolds-Parker grew up in Eugene. She was born at Sacred Heart Hospital, and may have been the first Black child born there, according to the University of Oregon.
In the late 1940s, she and her family were displaced from the town’s first Black neighborhood near the Willamette River when the Ferry Street Bridge was built.
They moved to a place near what’s now West 11th Avenue. Reynolds-Parker told KLCC in a 2022 interview that the home had no running water, and the family had to use an outhouse.
The Reynolds family is considered one of Eugene’s founding black families. A historical marker commemorating her parents, Sam and Mattie Reynolds, was placed along West 11th in 2018.
When Reynolds-Parker was in her 40s, she attended the University of Oregon, graduating in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. She then became a student advisor at UO.
With help from her former students and community members, she was able to buy her own home in 2022, at the age of 75. She lived there with her sister, and each had their own bathroom.
In 2019, UO’s Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center was named in her honor.
From Lyllye’s niece Deborah Reynold on Facebook:
"The community is deeply saddened by the passing of Lyllye Reynolds-Parker, a true pillar of civil rights activism and education. She was a remarkable individual who made a significant impact on the Eugene, Oregon community.
Lyllye was a leader in the city's movement for racial justice. She worked as a counselor at the University of Oregon's Multicultural Center and was instrumental in the establishment of the Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center. Her dedication to fostering a more inclusive and equitable society inspired countless others.
Lyllye's legacy will continue to live on through her work and the positive impact she had on those around her."
