"There's no place like home" can mean so many different things to different people, but for Kingsport natives Tom and Betsy Parker, it amazingly hits, where else? But home! Tom is a funeral director as well as a former ski-school director at Winterplace Ski Resort in Ghent, West Virginia, and Betsy has worked as an educator, is a registered nurse, and has the unique hobby of genealogy. She has also, in the past, participated in Southern historical reenactments while clothed in period pieces of her own making. Tom and Betsy Parker have a lovely slice of heaven in one of our beloved wooded neighborhoods off Preston Drive. Their location offers seclusion; our famous trees, of course; an abundance of wildlife; proximity to all things necessary; and peace and quiet. A real gem, and something our wooded neighborhoods are known for. What is truly a wonderful story is how this couple came home!

Tom and Betsy have known each other since the first grade and even dated a bit in high school. Betsy attended college in South Carolina and later returned to Kingsport where she reconnected with Tom. They joined their lives together and lived in a Patrick Henry lakefront home where they raised their family for 27 years. As their children went on to do their adulting, Tom and Betsy considered downsizing and moving to South Carolina for their retirement years. Well, the best-laid plans...

When Betsy's father passed, the intention was to put the Preston Drive family home on the market, sell their lakefront property, and embark on a new adventure near Charleston, South Carolina. There was a lot of work to be done updating the residence to sell, with Betsy overseeing the process. A plan had been made and was beginning to come together, when, family roots had a different idea. Just days before the planned open house, Betsy's husband Tom said to her, "I could mow this yard with my big mower..." and a seed was planted. After a day of incubation, they made a 360°, life-altering decision to purchase Betsy's family home themselves! The thought had never, ever crossed their minds, but once sown, they knew it was where they wanted to be. After a whirlwind of quick activity, they became the proud owners of their family's homestead, the second generation of Betsy's family. Having visited the property often through the years, Tom immediately embraced it with some ideas of his own!

Since they had never entertained the idea of actually living in the house themselves, now some serious interior designing and updating changes were on Betsy's list. The couple had to move 27 years' worth of family life to their new home, blend beautiful family heirlooms from Betsy's mother with their furnishings, modernize the kitchen, clear many trees on the property due to beetle damage, as well as bring Tom's vision to life - a beautiful pond with numerous waterfalls in the front of the house where the "rock garden" lived. Of course, the timing was smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. Now that Tom's vision has come to fruition, the Parkers welcome neighbors strolling by to relax on benches with a morning coffee or evening libation, enjoy the peace and tranquility, and share the quiet moments this spectacular water feature lends to our wooded neighborhood. 

The blending of heirlooms and traditions with Tom and Betsy's fresh vision has resulted in a tasteful, warm, comforting home with many nods to family ties, from the artwork on the walls by Betsy's family, beautiful antiques in harmony with modern pieces, and souvenirs from around the world collected during family travels. From the sunlight streaming through the gorgeous living room window and glass dining room that houses an impressive orchid collection, into the elegant kitchen, and out to the expansive outside areas, one feels the past life of this home intertwined with its new energy. Even the fur children are at home with a silver bowl of kibble in the front window to strategic cat cocoons, which her three-year-old grandson calls "cat pears," placed for their napping pleasure in the various rooms. Each family member's comfort has been taken into account.

Of particular note, Betsy chose to refinish the original metal Geneva cabinets in the galley kitchen, melding an understated retro feel with modern appliances and monochrome mosaic tile work. The result is truly unique! The house also sports a FROG, finished room over the garage, which has been many things through the years from a playroom, office and artist's studio, now to whatever Betsy and Tom choose!

This house was Betsy's childhood home since she was four years old. When asked if it was difficult to make the house her own, Betsy explained that it took her a while to call it "our house... for a very long time I continued to call it Dad's house." Betsy shared, "Once I put the pictures on the wall, it made the difference." And Tom agreed, "Now it looks like a home!" After all the work and the sweat equity, was it worth it? Betsy laughing replied, "Absolutely! The reason why is that we have made this something that we can pass on to our children or other family members." With the Parker family's six daughters and 10 grandchildren, this cherished home will likely remain a beloved family homestead in this wooded neighborhood for generations to come!