Harry Austin Parker, 68, 1380 N. Willow Springs Drive, died Sunday, Aug. 22, at home following a two-year battle with a brain tumor.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the First Assembly of God Church, Plover. The Rev. Dan Olson of Rice Lake and the Rev. Ray Haas of Community Church, Stevens Point, will officiate. Interment will be in Restlawn Memorial Park, town of Grand Rapids.
Friends may call at the Boston Funeral Home from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and at the church from 10 a.m. until service time Thursday.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be designated at a later date.
Mr. Parker was born Sept. 7, 1930, at home near Babcock in southern Wood County to the late E.M. Martin and Grace Parker.
He attended schools in Wisconsin Rapids, Babcock and Pittsville, graduating from Pittsville High School in 1948. He worked at the Port Edwards mill until 1950, when he enlisted in the Air Force. Two years of his Air Police work was at Clark Field in the Philippines.
He was married to Frances Knuteson on Jan. 17, 1953. She survives.
After completing his Air Force duty in South Carolina, the couple returned to the Wisconsin Rapids area to work at Port Edwards. In 1962, he became a state trooper, working in the Beloit, Waupaca and Stevens Point areas for about 10 years.
Shortly before leaving the State Patrol, he earned his real estate license and began selling lake property with N.E. Isaacson. He established P&R Realty in 1972 with Ken Richardson. Later the name was changed to Parker Realtors. In 1984, the Parkers opened Cone Corners and in 1985, the Blueberry Muffin Restaurant.
Mr. Parker served in many church leadership positions. He also enjoyed spending time with his family, gardening, raising blueberries, bee keeping and remodeling old houses. He was also an avid deer hunter, Green Bay Packer fan and bird watcher.
Besides his wife, survivors include one son, Steven (Beverly) Parker, Rochester, Minn.; two daughters, Elizabeth (Daniel) Allen, Brooklyn Park, Minn., and Karen (Craig) Lemieux, New London; four grandchildren; four brothers, Fred Parker, Nekoosa, Rev. Arnold Parker, Wisconsin Rapids, Alfred Parker, Wisconsin Rapids, and Rev. Richard Parker, Hampton, Iowa; and two sisters, Agnes (Charles) Harshner, Wisconsin Rapids, and Gertrude (Rev. Roy) Knuteson, Fort Collins, Colo.
One brother preceded him in death.
