Sept. 15, 1921 — May 14, 2014

NATCHEZ—Services for Page Morris Davis Parker, 92, of Natchez, who died Wednesday, May 14, 2014, at Natchez Regional Medical Center, will be at 3 p.m. today at Trinity Episcopal Church with the Rev. Walton Jones officiating.

Burial will follow at the Natchez City Cemetery under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.

Visitation will be from 1:30 p.m. until service time today.

Mrs. Parker was born Sept. 15, 1921, in Natchez, the daughter of Rogers Gorin Davis and Nina Pintard Davis.

She grew up in Natchez and attended a little one-room school with one teacher, who was charged with teaching six grades. When Mrs. Parker was 5 years old, she rode horseback with her sister, Mary Rogers, who was 2 years old, to attend this little country school. Mrs. Parker attended Natchez High School and graduated in 1940.

After graduating from high school, Mrs. Parker attended the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., where she was initiated into Kappa Delta Sorority and served as treasurer while in college. She later served as president of the Natchez Kappa Delta Alumni Chapter and received the White Rose pin representing 50 years of membership. In Lexington, Mrs. Parker lived with her beloved Uncle Jack and Aunt Mattie Lee Davis and worked for J. W. Davis Real Estate Agency. Mrs. Parker graduated in three years with a Bachelor of Science in business education.

When World War II erupted, Mrs. Parker decided to help her country and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a WAVE. After a battery of aptitude tests, it was decided Mrs. Parker would make the perfect recruiter for other young ladies to join the WAVES. Among the hundreds of young girls she recruited was her sister Mary Rogers, who enlisted on Oct. 10, 1944.  The U.S. Navy commissioned Mrs. Parker as a Lieutenant Junior Grade.  She worked at the Navy Yard in Washington, D. C., during World War II and had many exciting stories to recite.

After World War II, Mrs. Parker returned to Natchez. She worked at Adams Business Service until she married Eugene Jehlen Parker from Natchez on July 10, 1946, at Trinity Episcopal Church. Mrs. Parker and her husband moved to Morgantown Road and lived there until she returned to her beloved Grove Plantation in the sunset of her life.

Mrs. Parker was a member of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association. She was a lifelong and active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, where she was baptized, confirmed, married and will be buried, serving on the Vestry, Altar Guild and other committees. At the church, she was a member of the Joseph Kuehnle Guild and integral part of the Episcopal Church Women (ECW), including UTO chairman and Sunday School teacher for many years. She was Mississippi ECW Diocesan President from 1964 through 1966. During her tenure as president, she traveled extensively meeting the needs of humanitarian outreach around the world through the Episcopal Church.

Mrs. Parker was a longtime supporter of lymphoma research at M.D. Anderson in Houston, Texas, among many other philanthropic interests. She served on the Natchez Children’s Home Board of Directors and actively made a difference in the lives of many children, taking them to doctor’s appointments and Camp Bratton Green. She was a member of the Natchez Junior Auxiliary, serving as president. At Trinity Episcopal Day School, she served on the school board. Mrs. Parker was a longtime member of the Pilgrimage Garden Club, the Progressive Study Club and the Colonial Dames, serving as state treasurer.

Mrs. Parker always placed the needs of others before her personal needs. In challenging situations, she was there to lend help or support, and never wanted or accepted any credit. No one will ever know how many people she helped; her prayer book is filled with thank-you letters that she never shared with anyone. Her family and friends called her a saint; she was a joy to know; and is rejoicing in her heavenly home.

Survivors include her nieces, Claudia Jones Stephens and husband, Jack, of Natchez; Cynthia Page Jones Cooper and husband, Ed, of Arlington, Va.; niece and nephew who she reared, Joe Bailey of Natchez and Jan Bailey Stapleton and husband, Curtis, and their children, Page Stapleton and Bailey Stapleton, all of Frederick, Md.; two great nephews, Rogers Davis Stephens and wife, Lynn, and William Adams Stephens and wife, Gretta, and their children, Mary Katherine Jones Stephens, Anna Grace Roberts Stephens and Payton Jack Stephens, all of Olive Branch; sister-in-law, Barbara Nell Stewart; brother-in-law, Richard Parker; and a multitude of extended family members and blessed caregivers.

Pallbearers will be Joe Bailey, Ed Cooper, Jack Stephens, Rogers Stephens, William Stephens, Gerry Winters, Jay Stewart and Dennis Switzer.

Honorary pallbearers will be Claude Pintard Jr. and Van L. Stewart.

Memorials can be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, Trinity Episcopal Day School, M.D. Anderson in Houston, Texas, the Natchez Children’s Home or to the charity of your choice.

Online condolences may be sent to lairdfh.com.