Donald Parker

Donald Leon Parker, age 82, of Kerrville, passed away on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at home. A service will be held April 25, 1 pm, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Kerrville with reception to follow.\r\n\r\nHe was born at home on October 12, 1935, in Dexter, Texas, to Jesse and Gladys Ring Parker. On March 10, 1984, he married Susan McClellan Henderson in College Station.\r\n\r\nDon's family moved to Gainesville, Tx, when he was six, and he spent his boyhood selling newspapers telling of war news and watching his mother sew patches on military uniforms. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a BA and an MS in Physics and Math. He married Doris Dickerman and joined the USAF as a meteorologist in 1958. He served as a captain in the Air Force Reserve from 1961-1965.\r\n\r\nDr. Parker received a PhD in Physics from Texas A&M University in 1968. He was on faculties of the University of North Texas, Lamar Technical University, Texas Tech and was department head of Physics at St. Mary's University from 1970-1973. He was hired as a senior engineer at Jet Propulsion Lab in the summer of 1970.\r\n\r\nHe joined the faculty of Texas A&M in 1973 and retired as full professor in 2004. He served as interim director of the Institute of Solid State Electronics during those years and held eight patents. Eta Kappa Nu and IEEE Student Chapters awarded him Outstanding Teacher in 1996. Dr. Parker was consultant to Electro Scientific Industries, Honeywell, Inc., Science Application Inc. (survey of Soviet Union's capabilities in beam processing of electronic devices), Lynntech, Inc. and Texas Instruments, Inc. Don loved big family gatherings, parties, music ranging from grand opera to Willie, building and rebuilding acoustic speakers, woodworking, solving math problems, and talking to colleagues. He enjoyed "Dane's Sunday School Class" at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. He loved being "on the road again" in his RV with Susan and their dog Bruiser.\r\n\r\nDon is survived by his wife Susan Parker of Kerrville; daughters, Catherine Parker of Georgetown, Karen Parker of Bryan, and Susan Langley and husband Jesse of Leander; sons, Michael Parker and wife Susan of Austin, Thomas Parker and wife Kim of Conroe, and David Parker of Buda; sister, Christine Manning of Natchitoches, LA; sisters-in-law Maggie Parker of Hurst and Florence Rutledge of Weatherford; brother-in-law Robert McClellan and wife Aiko of Houston; step sons, Cole Henderson and wife Tracy of Austin, and Craig Henderson and wife Toni, of Jarrell; grandchildren, Justin, Amber, Lindsey, Marina, Samuel Donald, and Kailey Parker; Jennifer Skinner; Aiden and Devin Langley; and step grandchildren Brooke, Courtney, and Zackery Boatright; great-grandchildren, Kyle and Jaylie Parker, Tyler Phillips, Skylar and Joseph Skinner, and Joseph Lewis, and a host of nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents, brother, William Parker, and brother-in-law William Manning and Floyd Rutledge, brother-in-law.\r\n\r\nThe family is forever grateful to the Peterson family, especially Home Health and Hospice. A special love to Lisa Ontiveros of Helping Hands of the Heart. And always, dear Xiomara Villanueva.\r\n\r\nA scholarship has been created in Don's name for an EE student. Memorials may be made to Texas A&M Foundation Scholarships at https://www.txamfoundation.com/give.aspx . Select An Unlisted Account, Enter For Account Number: 05-33005. In Additional Comments write: A student enrolled in Electrical Engineering.