Barbara Jean Parker

Barbara Jean Parker, 88, passed away Friday, August 4, 2023 at her place of residence in Epworth Villa, Oklahoma City, OK.Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, John and Elizabeth Lawhon, her sons, Jon Daris Parker and Dale Patrick Parker, and her daughter Robyn Janelle Parker. She is survived by two sisters, Suzanne Jobe of Muskogee, OK and Mary Jane Lawhon of Frisco, TX; six grandchildren, Sabra DeLyn Rodriquez and family, Waurika, OK; Sophia Torrez-Franco and family of Waurika, OK; John Raymond Parker and family of Atoka OK; Daris Patrick Parker of Platteville, WI; Heather Brown and family of Berthoud, CO; Chad Williams of Sacramento, CA, and 12 great grandchildren. She was loved by so many nieces and nephews and greatly enjoyed her large extended family.Barbara was a 1953 graduate of Shawnee High School in Shawnee, OK and a member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church there. She worked at the Shawnee News-Star during high school and studied and graduated from Oklahoma City University in elementary education, receiving her Master of Arts in education from OCU in 1973. She married Rev. Wayne B. Parker, a United Methodist minister, in 1954 and they were married for 21 years.Barbara had an extensive career in education, teaching in elementary schools in Illinois, New Mexico, and Oklahoma for 16 years before joining the U.S. Department of Defense Dependents (DODDs) school system in Europe in 1985. She began that phase of her career as a 5th/6th grade teacher in Boeblingen Elementary School, Boeblingen, Germany, and went on to become Education Program Manager at Halverson Elementary, Frankfurt, Germany and Principal/Assistant Principal at Geissen Middle School, Geissen Germany. In 1994 she became an evaluation specialist at the Atlantic Regional Office for DODDs in London, UK; and completed her career as an Assistant Principal at Stephen Decatur School in Catania, Sicily, retiring in 2000. Barbara was awarded Assistant Principal of the Year by DODDs in 1997. After retirement, Barbara returned to Oklahoma City where she became the treasurer and church hostess at Wesley United Methodist Church, Oklahoma City, following in the footsteps of her close maternal grandmother Ada Goodwin Doty, a charter member and hostess of the same church.Barbara was extremely creative, owning a catering service and tea room in the late '70s, seamstress, gourmet cook, and member of a local miniature club in Oklahoma City where she crafted beautiful and detailed miniatures. One of her favorite organizations was the High Noon Club in Oklahoma City, and she stayed close with a special group of early university and seminary friends until her death. Barbara was a very caring person and her home was always open to all family and friends. Her later life centered around and was greatly enhanced by her grandchildren and great grandchildren who were so gratefully loving and attentive to her throughout their lives.Services for Barbara will be at 1:00 pm Monday, August 14 at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1401 NW 25th in Oklahoma City. Luncheon for family and close friends will be at 11:30 in the church fellowship hall. Services will be co-officiated by Rev. Adam Shahan, Wesley minister, and Barbara's lifelong friend Rev. Helen Taylor.Memorials can be made to the Doty Family Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, created by Barbara to benefit the kitchen at Wesley United Methodist Church. The family wishes to extend special thanks and gratitude to Doug Matheny, cousin, caregiver in her later life, and dear friend. Also extending gratitude to the staff at Epworth Villa who were so very kind and attentive to her. Arrangements are made through Smith and Kernke Funeral Home.