Desmond R Parker

Desmond died peacefully surrounded by the love of his family while under the care of Hospice and Legend of Allentown. He was born the only son of George Parker and Evangeline Risley Parker in Madison, NY, where he grew up in his dad’s barber shop and the beautiful countryside of upstate NY. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, hunting and trapping. After finishing high school, he enlisted in the US Army where he was sent to Korea. During this time, he struck up a pen pal romance with his future wife, Margarete Holt. Once his military service had ended, he and Margarete were married in Long Beach, NY in 1953 . He attended Hofstra University on the GI Bill and became an accountant for Sperry Corporation and Grumman Aerospace Corporation. He and Margarete raised three daughters, four dachshunds and one poodle, in Oceanside, Long Island. While working for Grumman, an opportunity for work in Isfahan, Iran became available and the whole family moved overseas for two memorable years in the 1975- 1977. 

Upon retirement in 1990, he and Margarete moved to Kutztown, PA, where they were close to manyoftheiroldLongIslandfriends,andtheirdaughtersandgrandchildren. Desmondhadmany wonderful traits that have been passed on to the next generations: his devotion to his children and grandchildren, especially his daughter Diane, who was a special child; 

His love of nature and the outdoors - he would love to regale us with stories of the snapping turtles in Madison Lake!; his kindness - he very rarely uttered a mean word to or about any one; his generosity - he loved to give away his garden goodies and granting Margarete her wish of: Let’s Eat Out!; his love of travel-the family took annual summer trips, and traveled all over the country, including Hawaii; his gregarious nature - he could talk to anybody!; his unwavering support of his children and their endeavors- no one was a bigger cheerleader than our dad. 

Desmond was pre deceased by his wife of 64 years, Margarete, and his eldest daughter Diane. He lost an older sister, Rosalind, who died in childhood. His legacy lives on through his daughters, Corinne Edmonds (David) and Melanie Geurtsen(David) and his grandsons: Parker and Connor Edmonds, and Benner(Olivia) and Ethan Geurtsen. 

Desmond was loved by so many people, because he truly cared about people. As he spent his last days on earth, the love that surrounded him was palpable. May we all live a life like Desmond. QuotingPaulfromFirstCorinthians:“Faith,HopeandLove,butthegreatestoftheseisLove.” Our father’s legacy was one of kindness and love. Please be a Desmond in the world and we will all be better for it. 

In honor of Desmond, donations can be made to AHRC Nassau, a charity close to our parents’ hearts. A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fleetwood, PA on Saturday November 30 at 10:30am.