U.S. Navy veteran of WWII, had a passion for sailing and dogs
Published March 21, 2019
MANCHESTER, N.H. — John Phillips Parker, 99, passed away on Sunday, March 17, 2019 at Villa Crest Nursing and Retirement Home in Manchester, N.H. He was born on February 3, 1920, in Melrose, Mass. to Edwin H. and Olive Doris (Kohlrausch) Parker.
He was a graduate of Melrose High School and Wentworth Institute, Boston, married Evelyn W. Stark on June 6, 1942, and served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, his brother Charles, his son, John “Scotty” Parker, and two great-grandsons, Samuel Taylor and Philip Amico.
John and Evelyn raised their family in North Reading and resided in town for over 40 years.
He is survived by his daughters, Anita “Skye” Taylor of St. Augustine, Fla., and Sally “Sarah” Parker-Yap, of Andover, Mass.; his grandchildren, Jeffrey Taylor of Tewksbury, Mass., Roberta Hunter of Hollis Center, Maine, Rebecca DeVost of Olney, Md., Alexander Taylor of Andover, Mass., Lori Amico of East Williston, N.Y., Katherine Stark of Merrimack, N.H., Deborah Parker of Puyallup, Wash., and Corbin Parker of Pratt, Kan.; and great-grandchildren Josie Sullivan-Taylor, Bailey Cabrera, Macayla Taylor, Christopher Hunter, Juliana and Jacqueline DeVost, Natalie, Jack and Anna Taylor, Theresa, Lynn, Emily and Nicholas Amico, Joshua and Arianna Shuler, and Beau Parker.
Since his passion was for sailing and dogs, he will be remembered later in the season with a gathering to scatter his ashes at sea. Gifts in his memory may be made to any no-kill animal shelter, or to K-9s for Warriors in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
