Low's Mimi Parker remembered by family and friends in Duluth
by Mark Nicklawske and Keely Zynda
November 11, 2022
Drummer and vocalist Mimi Parker was celebrated in a memorial service in Duluth on Thursday, Nov. 10. She was remembered for beautifully wrapped Christmas gifts, amazing cream puffs, and commitment to her two children in addition to her stunning voice and groundbreaking percussion work in the internationally acclaimed indie rock band Low.
Parker, 55, died of ovarian cancer Saturday. Close to 500 people attended funeral services at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Duluth, which filled the church, attached gymnasium, and stage.
“Friends, family, and bass players: Welcome,” said Elsie Davis in an opening remark that earned a heartfelt laugh. Indeed, the gathering included many from two different worlds: Parker’s faith community and her rock ‘n’ roll colleagues.
Parker formed the band Low in Duluth with her childhood sweetheart and husband guitarist Alan Sparhawk in 1993. While the band performed with a number of bass players, Parker defined its sound with her sweet, soaring vocals, and subtle, restrained timekeeping. The group released 13 albums in nearly 30 years of performing and regularly toured around the world. Its most recent album Hey What, recorded while Parker was fighting cancer, received a 2021 Grammy award nomination.
In her eulogy, family friend Robin Harris said as the band became successful, Parker and Sparhawk remained humble. For example, the current Low touring van remains similar to their first: “It speaks to their Midwestern roots and ethics to work hard, don’t show off,” she said. “What you drive doesn’t determine who you are.”
Harris said Parker did not like to tour but drove countless miles in the van and logged endless hours on airplanes to Europe. “But she put up with it with humor and fortitude, managing to look stylish and graceful,” Harris said. Parker once told Harris how she endured the road: “She sang to the tune of the Folgers Coffee commercial: ‘The best part of waking up is going back to bed.’”
Parker loved to cook, can, and plan dinner parties. She sewed dresses from vintage thrift store finds and loved to watch retro television shows like Mayberry RFD, Rockford Files and Gunsmoke.
Harris said Parker was a trusting mother who left her young children, Hollis and Cyrus, in her care as the band toured the country. “Her standout quality as a mom was her ability to not to get riled up about dog bites, scrapes, and bruises — or harrowing experiences like a four-year-old boy getting stranded alone on a lake in a boat under my care,” she said. “She saw the humor first, laughed, and then sought out details.”
Following her 2020 cancer diagnosis, Parker was undaunted. “She approached the challenge as she did every challenge: subdued but pretty,” said Harris. “Not calling attention to herself. With strong physicality and stillness in facing fire.”
Parker’s older sisters, Cindy Elam and Wanda Larson, recalled their rural Clearbrook, Minn., upbringing. Parker liked toy trucks instead of Barbie dolls, was a multi-sport athlete, and fed the pigs as part of her chores.
Elam said Parker never lost sight of her family. “My sister was special,” she said. “Whenever we talked she would never talk about going on tour. She always made it about you, what you were doing.”
Larson said Parker loved to go Christmas shopping and artfully wrapped all the packages. She also made the best sandwiches, desserts, and cream puffs. “She’s in heaven now and singing beautifully for everyone to hear,” she said.
Church president David Gore said Parker led a life of “extraordinary consequence.” “It is our privilege and blessing to know her, to know her great style and grace, to have heard her clear, singular voice, and to have known this calm and very grounded woman,” he said.
In addition to eulogists, “Point of Disgust,” a song written and sung by Parker on Low’s 2002 album Trust, was performed on piano and organ. Tim Rutili, founder and songwriter for the Chicago-based band Califone and Red Red Meat, performed his song “All My Friends Are Funeral Singers” with Sparhawk and Parker’s daughter Hollis. Following the service, friends and family gathered in the church gymnasium under strands of festoon lights and were served cream puffs made from a special Parker recipe.
