Floyd Jerome Parker, Jr.
Class of 1959

Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA) - October 8, 1997

Floyd Jerome Parker Jr., 57, of the 5000 block of W. Randolph Court died Oct. 6, 1997, in Virginia Beach General Hospital.

Born in Portsmouth, he was a teacher in the Virginia Beach Public School System for 29 years. He was a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Norfolk, Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity and Virginia Coach's Association. He was a graduate of the Class of 1959 of Cradock High School, where he was very active as a member and with class reunion functions. He was also a member of the Class of 1964 of Atlantic Christian College, now known as Barton University. He was a former softball coach for Salem Junior High School, a wrestling coach for Kempsville Middle School and a former soccer coach for Virginia Beach Football Club.

He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Janet Cowart Parker; a daughter, Dana Leigh Parker of Virginia Beach; a son, Floyd Jerome Parker III of Virginia Beach; mother, Ruth P. Clark of Virginia Beach; two brothers, Ronald D. Clark of Charlotte, N.C., Dennis H. Clark of Greensboro, N.C.; mother-in-law, Anita L. Cowart, and father-in-law, Luther E. Cowart, of Charleston, S.C.; and a brother-in-law, Alan E. Cowart of Atlanta.

A funeral will be conducted at 3 p.m. Thursday in St. Peter's Episcopal Church by the Rev. John M. Eidam. Burial will be in Olive Branch Cemetery, Portsmouth. The family will receive friends in Smith and Williams Funeral Home, Kempsville Chapel, from 6 to 8 p.m. today. Contributions may be made to Leukemia Society of America Inc., 2101 Executive Drive, Hampton, Va. 23666.

 

Floyd Parker,Cradock High School 1959

When he was a year old his parents, Ruth Pond Parker and F. J. "Sonny" Parker, moved from downtown Portsmouth to the suburbs where Floyd lived out his childhood days. Cradock, the community, its people, its schools and the nurturing neighborhood made a lifelong lasting impact on him. He cherished the memories and many friendships he made in Cradock as a child.

At Cradock High School he excelled in athletics. He didn't miss a sports season. He played football for four years and on one of the all time best Cradock teams in 1959. Floyd also wrestled, ran track and played tennis for Cradock on the most winning tennis team ever at Cradock. He never lost an individual match and Cradock finished his three varsity seasons with only five team losses.

After high school he enrolled at Atlantic Christian College and won college varsity letters in tennis, wrestling and track. He completed the requirements for a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1964 and returned home to begin a career as a teacher in the school systems of Hampton Roads. To complete a military service obligation Floyd joined the U. S. Coast Guard and served in the Coast Guard Reserve for eight years and later served for years in the Virginia National Guard.

Floyd married at age thirty-eight to Janet Cowart, a Virginia Beach teacher from South Carolina. They were married in Norfolk in 1979 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

Theirs was a wonderful marriage that brought him the great happiness of his life. For eighteen years, he and Janet raised their two children and made their happy home in Virginia Beach. There was never more devoted father. That his daughter, Dana, (Longwood University) and son, Floyd, (Old Dominion University) both graduated from fine Virginia Universities and are outstanding people is due in no small way to his love and devotion to them.

He was committed to teaching. From his earliest school days he knew that he wanted to teach. He never tired of athletics and their rewards and he taught his winning ways and many other valuable lessons to Virginia Beach school children for nearly thirty years. He was born September 22, 1940 and died at Age 57 on October 5, 1997. He is buried in Olive Branch Cemetery, Portsmouth, VA.