S. Parker Gay Jr.

He is preceded in death by his sweetheart, Anna Mariea Rose Gay (decd. 2013). Born in Waynesville, North Carolina on August 18, 1930, Parker was the only child of Sylvester Parker Gay and Mary Josephine Bowers. In his youth, Parker spent countless hours in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. His love for the outdoors continued his entire life. He became an avid birdwatcher and visited many parts of the world to increase his bird count while sharing his travel adventures with his children. His adventurous spirit led him to hitchhike across the country, eventually working on a ranch in the West during high school. He became a pilot at 19. In his Piper Cub, he made a harrowing flight through the Rocky Mountains at the age of 22.

Pursuing a technical degree, his geology professor inspired him to switch his major to geology. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in geology from MIT in 1952 and a Master of Science in geophysics from Stanford in 1961. He served in the United States Air Force interpreting maps from 1952 to 1955. While at Stanford, he met and married his first wife, Shirley Jean Eddy. He later moved to Peru where he worked as a geophysicist and started his own company with a Peruvian geologist and friend. His work brought him back to Salt Lake City, where he founded Applied Geophysics, Inc. in 1971. He worked there as President and Chief Geophysicist until the time of his passing. In 1974, Parker co-founded the International Basement Tectonics Association. He authored/co-authored 52 professional papers or books, and presented 141 talks to professional organizations over his 72-year career.

With his first wife, Shirley (decd. 2016), he had three children. He later married Anna Mariea Youngblood in Salt Lake City, where they raised her six children and were blessed with the birth of triplets. He instilled in his children his sense of adventure and love of nature.

Parker is survived by his six children: Parker Gay (Stephanie) Bauer, Nancy (John) DeFord, Linda (Scott, decd. 2016) Blanton, Josie (Kim) Carroll, Tom (Sarah) Gay, and Jon (Noemi) Gay. He is also survived by his six stepchildren: Lee (Val) Youngblood, Susanne Burbank, Angela (Steve) Haymond, Amber (Devin) Anderson, Jessica (Beau) Tolman, and Nannette (Ryan, decd. 2016) Tibbitts. Also, surviving are 35 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held in the Wasatch Lawn Mortuary Chapel, from 4 to 7 p.m., 3401 Highland Drive, Salt Lake City (84106) on Saturday, March 25th. Viewing: 4 to 5:30 p.m. Funeral: 6 to 7 p.m.