Barbara Ann Parker

Barbara Ann Butler was born in Richmond, VA, on December 19, 1936, to Herbert O. and Bessie Driskill Butler. The young family lived briefly in Winston Salem, NC, and Greensboro, NC, before returning to Richmond, where Barbara and her older brother grew up. The family were active members of Westhampton Baptist Church, where Barbara was a member of GAs.

Barbara graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1954, having met the young man who would become her husband while a student there. She earned a two-year secretarial diploma from Madison College, now James Madison University, in Harrisonburg, VA, in 1956. Upon graduation, she worked for the IRS, her shorthand and typing abilities, together with her unmatched organizational skills, putting her in high demand as a secretary. On March 23, 1957, she married her high school sweetheart, Howard Taylor Parker, Jr. They made their home in Richmond and welcomed their only child in August of 1958, after which Barbara made homemaking and motherhood her career. She was active in PTAs at her daughter’s schools and worked for a year in an elementary school cafeteria. Howard’s job took them to Roanoke, then to Lynchburg, VA, returning to Richmond for four years before moving to Florida in 1969. They lived in Melbourne, Miami, and Pembroke Pines before moving to Jacksonville in 1977.

Barbara was a talented seamstress, and made many clothes for her daughter and herself, as well as draperies, a quilt, and decorative pillows. She has used her skills and determination even to expertly reupholster furniture. She loved books, read voraciously, and worked in libraries of the many churches the family joined as they moved. In 1978, she returned to work as a secretary, working for several executive directors at the Florida Baptist Convention until her retirement in February of 1997. She adapted eagerly to the then-new technologies as they evolved in the business workplace. She was a valued volunteer at Beauclerc Elementary School library for several years, working in any capacity needed there. She drove a bus for a local church on Wednesday nights, picking up those who didn’t have transportation so they could attend activities. She participated, along with Howard, in the building of homes for Habitat for Humanity. She loved to help other people, and she loved her Lord deeply. She was thrilled to be Mommaw to her two granddaughters, and loved her two great granddaughters so much, though geography prevented her from knowing them as she would have liked.

Barbara is predeceased by her parents, her husband, and her brother, Robert Butler, brother-in-law William Parker, and her sisters-in-law Carolyn Butler, Beverly Monfalcone, and Donna Parker. She leaves behind her daughter, Debbie, granddaughters Jessie Barnes Bell (Scott) and Anna Barnes Estes (Keith), two great granddaughters, Adeline and Josephine Estes, loving nieces and nephews, her dearest lifelong friend, Jane Hardee, and many more treasured friends and neighbors. She will be greatly missed.

A brief graveside service will be held on Saturday, March 28, at 1 pm, at Greenlawn Cemetery, 4300 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 30th, at 2 pm, at Aspire Church San Marco, 1435 Atlantic Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. Visitation will be just prior to the service at 1pm, at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Aspire Church San Marco or to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.