"He had a good heart. He battled for the underdog," she said.
Her dad was a motivator and "a bit of a greenie", Miss Parkes said.
Mr Parkes was the first in the country to build stabilised rammed earth homes, building a couple in Kawaha Point in a communal village-type setting in the 1990s.
Many who knew him referred to him as "The Don".
"In a crisis, he was so good. He had so much energy. He would get things done," Genevieve said.
Mr Parkes also worked with Women's Refuge, Lifelink telephone counselling service and the Citizens Advice Bureau.
"He was a very generous man," his daughter said.
Son, Max Parkes recalls a father who always made time for family.
"He was always really busy. He was always organising things for us to do. We spent a lot of time on the lakes growing up. Don was a good rafter ... He taught us a lot, passing on a lot of skills to us," he said. "He had a huge amount of life force."
His dad was a man who couldn't stand for social injustices, Mr Parkes said.
"If he saw something, he'd spring into action," he said.
Former-partner Ann Sommerville said Mr Parkes had a passion for building sustainable homes into the future but sadly the idea wasn't picked up on until recent years.
She feels had he built them somewhere other than Rotorua, they might have taken off as a winner.
"It was just too soon for Rotorua ... He was just ahead of his time in the building industry," she said. "He was very much an old fashioned community lad."
He fought to save the Te Runanga Tearooms in Government Gardens, restoring it to its former glory.
Mr Parkes also built boats.
Everything was "black and white" as far as Mr Parkes was concerned, Ms Sommerville said.
"He had strong opinions which could polarise many people but he was a very proud, caring man. It was like he had old fashioned virtues. He was loyal ... very honest," she said.
John Dobbe went to work for Mr Parkes as a 17-year-old and stuck with him for more than 30 years. He says Mr Parkes was a hard boss but had passed on great work ethics to the "longest serving apprentice" he had.
Today, Mr Dobbe has his own building business in Nelson thanks to the skills he says he learnt from his close "mate".
Mr Dobbe recalls losing his first pay packet because of the "hammer marks" he left behind on the job.
"He was hard bugger to work for. He fined us $2 for each hammer mark," he said. "He was a mongrel boss but a fantastic mate. I enjoyed working for him. He taught me so much."
The family want to thank Rotorua Hospice for their support during Mr Parkes' final days.
"If there were angels on earth, it would be hospice. They were so kind and gentle," Ms Sommerville said.
Mr Parkes' funeral will be held on Saturday at 11am in St Faith's Church, Ohinemutu.
He is survived by his four children, Valerie, Max, Michael and Genevieve and three grandchildren, Rosa, Jim and Esther.
