Howard Parker

The world lost an amazing human being on October 21. Howard Baucum Parker, Jr. passed away peacefully at home in Baton Rouge, four days after his 90th birthday, after a courageous battle with cancer. Known as H.B. for most of his life, he was born on October 17, 1926 in Haynesville, LA to Dorothy Brown Parker and Howard Baucum Parker, Sr. Howard graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as an officer in June, 1949 and served in the Navy and Navy Reserve. After his active duty in the Navy, Howard lived the rest of his life in Baton Rouge. He was formerly a member of the Baton Rouge Kiwanis Club and of the Knights of Columbus. He was proud of being sober for over 42 years. He found his calling later in life as a substance abuse counselor and helping others. He was a member of the Baton Rouge Spiritualist Church and enjoyed many years of attending retreats at Camp Chesterfield in Indiana with his wide group of friends. Howard was known for his positive "attitude of gratitude" and was an inspiration to all who knew him. He had a huge heart and a keen intellect – a formidable combination. He was mentally sharp until the very end, and kept everyone on their toes with his astounding memory, trove of knowledge and sense of humor. He was a history buff and also kept up with current events. He loved to play Scrabble with his family and often was on the winning team. He could outplay most Jeopardy contestants and enjoyed calling out the answers before they did. He made friends wherever he went and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Howard was one of a kind and is dearly missed by all his many friends and family. In addition to his parents, Howard was predeceased by his wife Mary Ann Collens Parker and his grandson Evans Hanson, with whom he spent many happy times traveling around the country, and his best friend Frances Dodick. His survivors include his six children whom he loved very much: Ann Lytle Hanson (Houston, TX), Katie Augustyn and husband Robert (Westport, CT), Howard B. Parker, III and Marianne Sievers (Lodi, CA), Margaret Shrewsbury and husband Lee (Nashville, TN), Lancaster Collens Parker and wife Melanie (Dallas, TX) and John B. Parker and wife Debra (LaGrange Park, IL); Jamie Hanson, widow of grandson Evans Hanson; David Hanson, father of Evans; grandchildren Mary Claire Reynolds and Andrew Shrewsbury, Jana and Sarah Parker, and Will Augustyn; great grandchildren Janice and Alexandria Hanson and Libby Reynolds; cousins Benton Brown, Dottie Brown Reyckert, Carol Brown Trump and Scott Brown; and many other cousins on the Parker side. Howard and his family would like to thank the numerous people who cared for him during his illness, including Dr. Christopher Guarisco and his staff, especially Cathy, Hope, Arleen, Erica and Renee; Dr. Jay Brooks and his staff; all other doctors and staff at Ochsner; Dr. Andrew Lauve and the staff at Pennington Cancer Center; and the St. Joseph's Hospice staff and nurses. He would also like to thank Rose Thompson for her loyalty and devoted care; Art Chauvin, Ann Robertson, Sandra Badeaux, Cynthia Ponessa, Rodger Conway, John Grace, Nick Chowdhary, Steve Adams, Marie Peterson, Mira Galeano, Judy Tanner, Ted Melancon, Cricet Gentry, Maureen Joyce and everyone at MJ's Café, and Bo Champagne for their love and friendship. A celebration of Howard's life will be held at a future date to be announced, at Greenoaks Memorial Park. He requested donations in his name to be made to the Connecticut Association for the Gifted, a non-profit advocacy organization for gifted children and their special needs, where his daughter Katie has volunteered for close to 20 years. Donations may be made at www.ctgifted.org or mailed to CAG, P.O. Box 2598, Westport, CT, 06880. Condolences may be sent to: The Parker Family, 755 Drehr Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70806.