THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180301
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 34 lines
Ralph Joseph Parker, 95, of the 4400 block of Carlton Court, died Wednesday, July 17, 1996 at home after a long illness.
Mr. Parker, a native of Portsmouth, was the son of the late Robert Lee Parker and Kate Dickinson Parker, and the husband of the late Ruth Ellen Marshall Parker for 65 years.
He was co-owner with his brother Robert F. Parker of W & J Parker, Wholesale Grocers, established by family in 1865 and continued operating through 1965. Mr. Parker was on the Board of Trustees with Portsmouth General Hospital for 40 years, a Board of Trustees member of Trinity Episcopal Church and head usher for 30 years. He was a huntsman for 80 years and a member of the George Washington Hunt Club. Mr. Parker was on the first football and baseball teams of Woodrow Wilson High School in 1918 and was awarded a scholarship to the College of William and Mary. He was captain of the Air Raid Wardens during 1944-45.
Survivors include his two daughters, Ruth P. Spear and Jean P. Colonna both of Portsmouth; four granddaughters, Marsha S. Howes and her husband, Patrick M. Howes of Dumfries, Va., Tamyra Jean Spear of Fredericksburg, Va., Courtney C. Pitts and her husband, Ron Pitts, of Fairfax, Va., Caralyn C. Wittersheim and her husband, Ray Wittersheim, of Suffolk; five great-grandchildren, Rhys P. Hora, Cabot and Corinne Pitts, Corey and Cayla Wittersheim.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in Trinity Episcopal Church by the Revs. Forrest J. Bergeron and Julia Dorsey Loomis with burial in Olive Branch Cemetery. The family will receive friends at 4408 Carlton Court today from 7 to 9 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to: Trinity Episcopal Church - Book of Remembrance, 500 Court St., Portsmouth, Va. 23704, or charity of choice. Foster Funeral Home, Portsmouth, is in charge.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB