Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Parker, John C., 1986 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ JOHN CRUMP PARKER LAWYER, HISTORIAN JOHN C. PARKER OF FRANKLIN DIES TIMES DISPATCH STATE STAFF FRANKLIN - John Crump Parker, a former president of the Virginia State Bar, Union Camp Corp. lawyer and historian, died Tuesday after a long illness. He was 90. A native of Franklin, Mr. Parker was graduated from Virginia Military Institute and attended law school at the University of Virginia before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps and serving in France during World War I. Commissioned at first lieutenant, Mr. Parker took up the practice of general law in Franklin after his return. In 1948, he began an eight-year tenure as general counsel for Camp Manufacturing Co., which later became Union Camp Corp. From 1956 until his retirement in 1960, Mr. Parker was division counsel for the paper manufacturer. He served as a legal consultant to Union Camp until his death. Mr. Parker was a distinguished student at VMI; he served as president of the school's board of visitors in 1957-58. At the University of Virginia, he was a member of the Raven Society, the Jefferson Literary Society and was on the editorial staff of the law review. During his legal career, he was instrumental in the formation of the state bar and was a former president of Southampton County Bar Association. He was also president of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1956. In the early 1960's, also, Mr. Parker served as counsel to lawyers representing Francis Gary Powers, a Wise County native and U2 spy plane pilot shot down in Russia. Mr. Parker maintained a devoted interest to affairs in Franklin and Southampton throughout his life, serving as a member of Town Council and chairman of the town School Board. He was a charter member of Southampton Post 73 of the American Legion and was a post commander. During World War II, he was assistant coordinator for civil defense and chairman of the Southampton County Selective Service Board. Mr. Parker was charter member of the Franklin Rotary Club and was founder of the Southampton Historical Society. He was a member of the Virginia Historical Society and a former member of its executive committee. In addition, he was a director of the George C. Marshall Research Foundation and of the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Inc. Mr. Parker served on the board of trustees of Union Theological Seminary, was on the local board of St. Margaret's School, and was a former president of the parents board at Sweetbriar College. He was a director of the Virginia Society for Crippled Children and a director of Southampton Academy. He was a member of numerous social clubs and of the Sons of the Cincinnati and in 1971 was named "First Citizen of Franklin." Mr. Parker was a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, where he was on the vestry and served as senior warden. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Alice Saunders Dabney Parker of Franklin; two daughters, Mrs. R.E. Rutledge Jr. of Port Chester, N.Y., and Mrs. James C. McColl of Columbia, S.C.; and three granddaughters. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Emmanuel Episcopal Church with burial in Poplar Spring Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the endowment fund of Emmanuel Episcopal Church. ****************************************************************************** JOHN CRUMP PARKER FRANKLIN - John Crump Parker, former president of the Virginia State Bar, general counsel for Union Camp Corp. and noted regional historian died Tuesday after a long illness. Mr. Parker, of Meadow Lane, Franklin, was 90. "It is as difficult to compass the contributions of John C. Parker to the company as it is his contributions to the community and the Commonwealth," said John D. Munford, executive vice president and general manager of Union Camp Corp. "Suffice it to say that they were outstanding and irreplaceable." "He was a super lawyer, a super citizen of Franklin and the commonwealth and a super friend," said G. Elliott Cobb Jr., Franklin’s mayor and former lawyer for Union Camp. "He was a prominent man, not just in Franklin, where he close to live his whole life, but across the state." In an interview in late 1984, Mr. Parker acknowledged, "I had the opportunity to go to a couple of different places to practice, but I decided I would stay home and see what it was like. I’m glad I did. "I’ve always found the people here to be very special." A native of Franklin, Mr. Parker graduated from Franklin High School in 1911 and from Virginia Military Institute in 1914 with a degree in electrical engineering. Unsure if he should follow in the footsteps of his father, John Crafford Parker, a Franklin attorney, he entered Washington & Lee University, Lexington, where he took law courses and helped pay for his education by teaching French, German and English. Deciding to pursue a legal career, Mr. Parker switched to upon the death of his father in 1919, but passed the Virginia Bar Examination the same year and began his Franklin law practice. In 1948, he began an eight-year tenure as general counsel for Camp Manufacturing Co., which became Union Camp Corp. From 1956 until his retirement in 1960, he was division counsel for Union Camp and served as legal consultant until his death. In 1956, he was chosen president of the Virginia Constitutional Convention, having already served as president of the University of Virginia Law School Association and the Virginia State and Southampton County bar associations. In 1960, he was asked by the Va. Bar Association to aid in the defense of Francis Gary Powers, a Wise County native, whose U-2 surveillance plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. He was a member of the executive committee of the State Bar, the American Bar Association, the American Law Institute and the American Judicature Society. At The University of Virginia, he was a member of the Raven Society, the Jefferson Literary Society and was on the editorial staff of the law review. He served as president of VMI’s Board of Visitors in 1956-57. Mr. Parker also maintained an active interest in local affairs and served as a member of the town council and chairman of the town school board. He was also a charter member of Southampton Post 73 of the American Legion and was post commander. In 1971, he was named Franklin’s "First Citizen." Mr. Parker was charter member of the Franklin Rotary Club and was founder of the Southampton Historical Society and a former member of its executive committee. He was also a director of the George C. Marshall Research Foundation and of the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Inc. Mr. Parker was a vestryman and senior warden of Emmanuel Episcopal church, Franklin, served on the board of trustees of Union Theological Seminary, was on the local board of St. Margaret’s School and was a former president of the parents board at Sweetbriar College. He was a director of the Virginia Society for Crippled Children and a director of Southampton Academy. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Alice Saunders Dabney Parker of Franklin; two daughters, Mrs. R.E. Rutledge Jr. of Port Chester, N.Y., and Mrs. James C. McColl of Columbia, S.C.; and three granddaughters. A funeral was held Friday at Emmanuel Episcopal Church by the Rev. Ben R. Duffey and Fleming Rutledge. Burial was in Poplar Spring Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the endowment fund of Emmanuel Episcopal Church. John Crump PARKER, of Franklin, lawyer and historian, Army Air Corps veteran of WWI, civic leader, Franklin native, d. 25 Feb 1986, age 90, interred in Poplar Spring Cemetery (Section 1, Plot 2*), Franklin, 28 Feb 1986, "The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch," Feb. 27, 1986, B-2; donated obit, newspaper unknown *Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project, Poplar Spring list: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/cemeteries/poplar1.txt His father's obit ("Tidewater News," Jan. 10, 1919) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/p626j1ob.txt His mother's obit ("Tidewater News," Aug. 2, 1946, p. 1), with their marriage record appended, is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/p626e2ob.txt Two photos of "John C. Parker, Jr." appear with articles on a newspaper convention in Richmond, 9 Dec 1908. One is a group shot of Times-Dispatch correspondents, the other captioned, "THE BOY CORRESPONDENT." ("The Richmond {VA} Times-Dispatch," Thurs., Dec. 10, 1908, pp. 8-9) Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/p626j6ob.txt