Darlene I. Parker, 86, passed away due to natural causes at Northern Montana Hospital on Friday, April 26, 2024.  Wake services will begin at 3:00 p.m. with a Rosary service to begin at 7:00 p.m., all on Monday, April 29, 2024, at St. Mary's Catholic Church.  Darlene's funeral service will be at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, with burial to follow in the Parker Family Cemetery.  Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.

Darlene was born on September 20, 1937, in Browning to Miles RunningWolf and Myrtle Smith.  She was raised in Browning, attending Flandreau Indian School and graduating from Browning High School.  While there, she had her two children.  After graduation, Darlene moved to California, where she worked as a medical assistant and an LPN.  There, she also met Paul Parker, and the couple later married.  They returned to Montana, where Darlene taught in Browning until 1970, when they moved to Rocky Boy and Darlene attended Northern Montana College, graduating with her Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1975.  The family returned to Browning, where Darlene cared for her mother for many years, returning to Rocky Boy in the late 1990s.  There, she continued to teach at Rocky Boy Tribal High School and Dull Knife College satellite campus.  She also went on to serve as the director of Head Start in Rocky Boy, and also substituted in administration and as a teacher at Rocky Boy High School until her retirement in the early 2000s.

Darlene loved playing at the casino, playing board and card games, and working puzzles.  She was a wonderful cook and baker, and she really enjoyed reading, fishing, and picnics.  Darlene was proud of her heritage, teaching the Blackfeet language to the younger generations.  Her family was incredibly important to Darlene, and she absolutely adored her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.  She was so proud of her five living generations.

She was preceded in death by her son, Michael "Binky" Monroe; parents, Miles RunningWolf and Myrtle Monroe; siblings, Walter, Audrey Mae, Margaret, Eugene, Neva, and Lillian; and numerous extended family.

Darlene is survived by her husband, Paul Parker; daughter, Carol (Teddy) Russette; grandchildren, Michael Weatherwax, Shalee Russette, and Teddy Russette IV; great-grandchildren, Karley, Branson, and Teddy Russette V, and T'Neal and Fury LaMere; numerous great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other extended family and friends.