“If you were on
the river with
Parker, every
day was cleanup
day.”
–longtime friend
Kirk Little
HOMETOWN L I V ING AT ITS BEST 113
OPPOSITE Good friends Mark Miller,
Parker, and Mike Reeves hiking the
Jacks River.
ABOVE, CLOCKWISE Parker and his
daughter Brooke on their pond. In 2005,
Parker and Brooke won the Ohoopee
Canoe Club Poker Run. Parker
canoeing in the Okefenokee Swamp.
to worsen. On December 4, 2012, he got lost in Atlanta on
a job that he knew like the back of his hand.” Parker was
diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia on March 8, 2013.
“His symptoms grew worse every day,” said Judy. “It was
very difficult to watch my soulmate, one of the strongest
people I have ever known, not even being able to do normal
daily activities.” Parker passed away on March 14, 2018.
“We miss him every day, but I am sure he is canoeing in a
golden river in heaven and helping anyone that needs help
along the way. I feel blessed to have spent almost thirty
years with him.”
Parker’s obituary read, “He was a member of the
Ohoopee Canoe Club,” a “canoe club” Karl Owens describes
as simply “a bunch of friends who liked to paddle and hang
out.” Unlike other environmentally minded river groups,
there was no political agenda, no statement to be made by
the group’s river trips. The river brought them together, and
keeping it clean was a responsibility each one took to heart.
There are times when peaceful protests have helped
give “freedom of speech” a platform for needed change. But
signs and shouts without personal responsibility speaks
only of a quest for identity in something meaningful, which
is like slapping a label on an empty package. Last year, I
encountered a group of teenagers returning from a protest
about environmental irresponsibility. With chins high,
they carried their posters with angry slogans of accusation
against authority, and not one bent to pick up even one
piece of trash littered everywhere beneath their feet. It was
certainly not indicative of all those who stand up to speak
out, but the contradiction was heartbreaking.
“If you were on the river with Parker, every day was
clean-up day,” said longtime friend Kirk Little. His friends
are no different. They have all stopped to remove garbage
from the Ohoopee’s white sandbars and pull items out