ESCANABA, MI – "Yooper" will soon be defined by Merriam-Webster thanks to an Upper Peninsula man's dogged efforts to prove its worthiness.

The term for Upper Peninsula residents will be included in the 2014 version of Merriam-Webster set to hit the shelves in April, said Gladstone resident Steve Parks, who began penning letters to the dictionary's editors in 2002.

The word will appear as: yoo-per: a native or resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan – used as a nickname.

The news was announced Monday, March 24, at the Delta County Chamber of Commerce.

"It was a fun ride," Parks said. "It’s kind of amazing that we finally reached the end of the road after all this time."

Parks began the personal endeavor after a friend challenged his use of "yooper" in a game of Scrabble.

"We even went to a dictionary, and he was right. It wasn’t in the dictionary. And I couldn't believe that because even then the word was very commonly used and so I sort of started out on this quest," he said.

Parks thought it'd be easy to convince Merriam-Webster to adopt the term, but an editor at the time wrote back explaining they consider how broadly a word is used and "yooper" seemed to be a regionalism. He made his case a few times. In 2004, the editor politely suggested Parks may want to try again in 10 years.

He took a hiatus, and when he picked the pen back up sometime between 2007 and 2009, a different person - Associate Editor Emily Brewster - replied.

"She was more positive," Parks said. "I was totally motivated to write because she was not closing the door; she was actually trying to open it for me."

He'd send her documentation of use of "yooper," such as Stephen King's "Duma Key," which mentions the term, and references of well-known yoopers, including Tom Izzo and Steve Mariucci. He once heard Rush Limbaugh refer to the term. His mother clipped a crossword puzzle in the Boston Globe cluing to "yooper."

"Every time I would hear something like that I would write and tell her what I heard," Parks said. "She couldn’t ever tell me when it was going to be in, but she would tell me, 'I believe there will be a day when this is in.'"

Parks wrote under pen names and would often sprinkle in light-hearted anecdotes - sometimes tall tales for amusement - about his friends and their life in the Upper Peninsula. In his efforts to humor Brewster, he sent yooper magnets, key chains, mugs and a T-shirt.

Parks, the Delta County prosecutor, worked in private practice when he first started writing to Merriam-Webster. It was a fun diversion during his lunch hours.

"It was just a fun little escape to me and it gave me something to hope for," Parks said.

Merriam-Webster's definition doesn't discriminate against Upper Peninsula residents who aren't native, which is good for Parks, who was born in Owosso. He became an official yooper in 1985.

He and his siblings spent summer vacations piling into their parents' station wagon and heading north. His father was from the U.P. and Parks came to appreciate the unique culture and customs of the area.

"We have our own sort of identity," he said. "It has a broader meaning to me and to a lot of people. To me it’s synonymous with resilience, solid work ethic, community spirit and taking care of your neighbor kind of thing - all those good qualities that are sometimes lost in bigger areas."

Parks was asked why he went through all the effort. His reply was partly for the fun of it, but also because "the word has meaning to people up here."

He said Brewster has agreed to visit the Upper Peninsula in August to see what yoopers are all about.

Parks joked that the next time he's called out for using "yooper" in Scrabble, he can confidently reply that it's in the dictionary.

Angie Jackson covers public safety and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her at ajackso3@mlive.com, and follow her on Twitter.