Thomas Bernard Parker was born February 21, 1945 in Denver, Colorado and raised in upstate New York and Shelton, Connecticut. He attended high school in Arizona at Scottsdale High and graduated from Arizona State University where he was a member of the ROTC. The ROTC was the beginning of a military career that spanned forty years and included serving in Vietnam, flying helicopters to rescue wounded troops from the field. Those heroic efforts earned him numerous medals and honors which include the Distinguished Flying Cross. After his discharge from the Army in 1970, he maintained his connection to the military through duty in the Army Reserves and the Army National Guard, and continued to earn honors and promotions for his devotion to service to his country.
Tom passed away September 29, 2013 and is survived by his wife, Anita Parker, daughter Allison and daughter Trilde Moore, grandchildren Maddie, Simon and Jessie of Phoenix, daughter Heidi Fleming and grandchildren Benjamin and Brandon of Newberg, Oregon, mother Ceil Parker and sisters Leslie and Kerry, and Aunt Rita Lambert of Connecticut, and sister Martha Parker of Minnesota.
A full Military Service will take place October 11, 2013 at 10 a.m. at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, and a Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. October 13, 2013 at the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 56
th
Street and Oak in Phoenix. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to St. Mary’s Food Bank, 2831 N. 31
st
Ave., Phx., AZ 85009.