Benjamin Jabe Parker

Mr. Parker, a resident of Dallas, Texas, died on May 9, 2011. Jabe was born on December 16, 1922 at St. Paul’s Hospital in Dallas and resided in Carthage, Texas. He was the youngest son of the late Benjamin Jabe Parker Sr. and the former Emily Gladys Whitfield. The Parkers lived in a historic home at 201 West Sabine Street that verged on the square. Jabe graduated from Carthage High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1944. While at UT he met fellow student and love of his life Vollie Jeane Cain Irvine, and they married on September 8, 1945 at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Houston. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. Using his mechanical and electrical engineering background, he was assigned as an air force electronics technician’s mate until his honorable discharge from the Navy in the summer of 1946. Jabe began his professional career employed as a test engineer with General Electric Company in Erie, Pennsylvania and Schenectady, New York. Subsequent jobs with the chemical division moved him to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife returned to Texas in 1956 and settled in Dallas where he assumed management in the heavy apparatus division and later moved to the oil and gas area of GE. Ultimately, his division sold and installed oil and gas equipment for offshore drilling in South America, Central America, Europe, and the Middle East as well as in the United States, and through the course of his business he developed an interest in travel that he and his wife continued to pursue during retirement. He was an avid outdoorsman, an accomplished gardener, and enjoyed golf, fishing, and boating. Jabe was fascinated with history and an inveterate reader. He was a loving father, and both Jabe and Vollie Jeane took joy in their family and considered their children and grandchildren to be their proudest and most enduring legacy. Jabe was an active member of Highland Park United Methodist Church, and he and Vollie joined the Two by Two Class in 1956 where they made lifelong friendships. He served on the Board of the church as well as in various other roles there. Mr. Parker was preceded by his brother, Matthew Whitfield Parker. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, the former Vollie Jeane Cain Irvine; his daughters Rebecca Lynn Clark and husband Dr. John Blue Clark, Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina; Barbara Jean McCoy and husband Michael Walters McCoy of Plano, Texas; and Ann Elizabeth McCarthy and husband Thomas Francis McCarthy of Cornelius, North Carolina. In addition, he is survived by four grandchildren: John Benjamin Clark and wife Caroline Lynch Clark of Charlotte, North Carolina; Justin Parker Clark of Dallas, Texas; Kallen Mathew McCoy and wife Sara Shackelford McCoy of Dallas, Texas; Rebecca Ann McCoy of Plano, Texas; and beloved nieces and nephews: Susan Ann Parker, Dr. John Matt Parker, Gary Michael Parker and wife Jane Kirk Parker, and Martha Jane Parker. A service celebrating the life of Mr. Parker will be held on May 12th at 2:00 PM in Cox Chapel at Highland Park United Methodist Church with Rev. Bill Smith officiating. A reception in Cox Parlor will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Highland Park United Methodist Church, Two by Two Benevolence Fund, 3300 Mockingbird Ln., Dallas, TX 75205 or the charity of your choice.

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Benjamin Jabe Parker

December 16, 1922 - May 9, 2011