John Thomas Parker, Jr.

John Thomas Parker Junior, a most beloved husband, father, brother, son, and friend, entered into eternal rest on January 18, 2015 at the age of 50 in Charleston, SC.
Born on February 9, 1964, at Roper Hospital, John was lovingly adopted by his mother and father Tommy and Nina Parker through a beloved friend Doctor Robert Johnson. He was raised in a small house in Northbridge Terrace in West Ashley that his father had built in 1961. For his entire childhood, this home and neighborhood were the center of his universe. He cherished every ounce of life that was given to him by his parents and he forged life-long friendships throughout Charleston and beyond. As his younger brother, I witnessed the way that even at an early age, people flocked to be by his side. He had a charisma that was genuinely filled with caring and compassion for anyone he ever met. Most people develop friendships with different people at various stages of their lives, and those friendships have a tendency to wither away with time. This was never the case with John. Once you were his friend, he never left your side. This is proven in the outpouring of love that has been directed our way. From neighborhood friends, Chris and Kim, and Andrea and Nadine, Greg and Anne, Tommy, and Bill, Allen, and Bob, to High School friends, Ritchie and Pat and Craig, to his college friends from Oxford, Julie, Cathy, Margie, Terri, Terry, and Peter, - John made a point of staying in touch and remaining friends even as people's lives took them far away and down different paths.
John attended Westminster Presbyterian Church Kindergarten, Orange Grove Elementary, Wallace Middle School, Porter-Gaud High School (class of 1982), and Emory University at Oxford and Atlanta where he graduated in 1986. John was just beginning his life in Atlanta, in 1986, when his father fell ill, and John returned to Charleston to take his place at his side at Parker Marine Contracting. John continued to lead the company for the next 29 years alongside his father.
As a child, whether we were playing baseball or flashlight tag, John was always a team captain, and he always sought to include everyone and make fair teams on both side - that was somewhat infuriating - but that was John. His greatest passions in life were reading action novels and listening to music. He introduced us all to the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars in the 1970's, and he was probably the first leader of a neighborhood Dungeons and Dragons Club. He was also a huge fan of Wrestling and Ric Flair, and he never missed a match at Charleston County Hall on Friday nights. From the very first day our "10 records for a penny" arrived from Columbia House, in 1978, John was hooked on Rock and Roll. Led Zeppelin, Styx, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC filled our house in the 1980's, and John's walls were adorned with Rock and Roll posters and his closet filled with Converse high-tops. John loved the ocean and was the first in our family to become a certified diver in 1979. Countless trips to the Bahamas and Virgin Islands and volumes of documented dives with our dad, me, and our friends would follow.
From the earliest days of my recollection, John was first and foremost my big brother - and to me he was the greatest, most fantastical, biggest brother on the face of the earth. Whether defending me on the playground, picking me up and hitting me with the Bactine when I skinned my knee, letting me pick which Saturday morning cartoons we watched, letting me win at board games, or just being a shoulder to cry on when things weren't going my way. We enjoyed so many things together - camping out with the Indian Guides, jet-skiing and hydro-sliding, playing army or football or baseball, swimming at NBT pool, riding bikes off the pier, climbing trees, sneaking into the movies or Charlestown Landing, crawling through drain pipes….or just being together at home, which obviously we did quite a bit, because I think you can infer that we were grounded a lot. I remember going through a period when we were very young where I was so afraid of dying after our grandmother Nanny passed away that I couldn't sleep at night. John let me sleep in his bed with him for a few weeks, and told me about how we would all see each other again and it would be like a big family reunion someday - that thought came back to me the other night, and I will hold onto it tightly, forever.
John met his battle with Diabetes head-on. From the onset he researched his condition and controlled his blood like nobody else. He never let the disease bring him or those around him down and he never sought anyone's sympathy. He never let this stop him from anything he wanted to do.
At Parker Marine Contracting, John carried a special love for not only his work, but also for each and every person who helped to make the company what it has become today. As a teenager, he worked there and learned from some of the greatest people God ever put on this earth - besides his dad, there was Randolph Knight, Pat and Mark Mullins, Robert Nettles, Melvin Duffy, John Skinner, Marty and Jack Swain, Juanita Brown, Linda Simmons, and an endless list of others. Whenever I told my brother he needed to take a break and get some rest, he would say "I have thirty-seven families that are depending on me every day - rest is not in my vocabulary." He loved them all each and every one.
John's passion for his work led him to be a leader in the construction industry, and he held countless positions, winning accolades and praise for his contributions just like his father. John was the Charleston Chapter President of the American Subcontractors Association(ASA) from 2000-2002, Carolinas ASA President 2005-2006, Charleston Chapter President of the Pile Driving Contractors Association(PDCA) 2008-2009, a member of the PDCA National Board in 2010, winner of the Virginia Casey Short award 2007 and a member of the 8-80 Club for association member recruitment. John even adorned the Men of ASA calendar as "Mr. May" in 2011. John was affectionately called "Daisy" by the folks at ASA because he always needed to be driven somewhere at night because of his eyesight. The PDCA folks called him "Bernie" at weekend gatherings because he was so laid back and "propped" against the wall.
John was a walking encyclopedia of Rock Music. If you ever had to play him in a music trivia game, he would eat your lunch - I promise. His greatest musical passion was the Grateful Dead. He followed them up and down the West Coast one summer, and attended too many concerts to list here, but his favorites included Arlo Guthrie, John Prine, and Blondie. At last count, John had attended over 400 concerts in his lifetime. When I had to call him and tell him Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead had died, he cried on the phone for half an hour. This was my brother - his passion was overwhelming all the time.
John was a native Charlestonian, and he loved the Lowcountry and Mt. Pleasant with his heart. He sat on the Board of the Tidelands Bank from its inception and was a very active and proud member. In the 90's, John completed several Cooper River Bridge Runs. He most recently cherished attending Carolina Gamecock's football games with some of his best friends including John King and Michael Runey. Two of his greatest friends were Ritchie Weil and Allen Bruce - there was always an incredible bond between them which was unfaltering throughout the years.
John's greatest passion in life literally bumped into him on the elevator when he arrived at Emory at Oxford in 1982. Sara Margaret "Meg" Bell was her name and he lived solely for her from that fateful day forward. Never in my life have I witnessed a union of two more identical and perfect people - Meg and John shared their passion for music, literature, and life in every waking moment. They were the loves of each other's lives. Meg fondly remembers when they were flying to Europe for their honeymoon in 1991. John was reading a Dave Barry book and laughing so hard, it was keeping people awake on the flight. Meg "suggested" that John move to the back of the plane where nobody was sitting - so he did. The strength of their bond was so powerful that when they encountered hard times or a difficult situation they would hold hands and say, "John and Meg…Meg and John". Together, they had two beautiful daughters Mitchell and Ali - their lives revolved around these two precious children. John was so incredibly proud of his girls that he would interject them into conversations and completely lead people off topic. It was beautiful to watch. John supported his girls in everything they enjoyed.
As adopted brothers, John and I never took for granted the lives that we were given. The selfless love and dedication bestowed on us by our parents, helped to make John the man he always was. Our parents not only provided for us, but they also taught us to reach out and help as many children as possible. For this reason we are asking that in lieu of flowers please make contributions in John's name to a place that is very dear to our family - Thornwell Home for Children at 302 South Broad Street Clinton, SC, 29325.
Please join us for a celebration of John's life when we hold a "Gathering of Friends" at Stuhr's Funeral Home located at 1494 Mathis Ferry Road in Mt. Pleasant, SC, on Saturday January 24, from 5-7 pm. We are asking that you wear business or "concert" casual clothing in John's honor. More importantly, if you have a pair of Converse High Tops, please wear them in his honor - it would mean so much to him.
Surviving John are his beloved wife Sara Margaret Parker, and his beautiful children, Nina Mitchell Parker and Alice Kent Parker all of Mt. Pleasant. He is also survived by his brother Kent Julius Parker, Sister-in-law Tania Toney-Parker, nephew Austen Albert Parker, and nieces Maddison Bailey Parker and Tess Nadia Parker of Wadmalaw Island, SC and his dear Aunt Mary Varella of Marietta, Georgia. John is also survived by countless cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and wonderful friends who always held a special place in his huge heart.
We will all miss you so much John - Your "long, strange trip" has reached its' destination…