Robert W. "Bob" Parker

Robert W. “Bob” Parker, age 89, went to be with God on Friday, July 17, 2026. He was blessed to be able to do most everything he loved (except driving) up until the very end.

Bob was born in Bradyville, Tennessee on April 24, 1937, and raised in the area of Middle Tennessee and Oak Ridge. His father, Hilary D. Parker was a respected educator and superintendent of schools for the Oak Ridge Tennessee school system during World War II. After the war they moved to Murfreesboro where Bob’s father took a position as the principal of the campus school for MTSU where he helped many others train for the field of education. Bob graduated from Central High School in 1955, MTSU in 1959 and followed his dream of joining the Air Force.

Bob’s first assignment was to Cannon Air Force Base, NM. He met his wife, Valorie, over in Holland in 1961 when he was serving with the 32 Fighter Interceptor Squadron. They moved back to the USA in the early 60s and had two children while stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. Bob was sent to Saigon during the Vietnam War and served a year there while his wife and children moved to Murfreesboro to be near his parents.

After his service in the war, he was stationed in Washington DC, Montgomery AL, and finally at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. He retired from the Air Force at Keesler in 1979 and moved back to Tennessee to build his dream home out in the country in La Vergne near his only brother, Morris Parker.

Bob worked with his brother casting bronze at Morris’s ‘New River Foundry’ for over a decade. They would work in the foundry in the mornings and then go straight to working on building the house. He then went to work for Prestige Trophies over in Brentwood Tennessee as an engraver in 1992. In 2018 Bob and Valorie decided to move closer to their son, his wife, and the two granddaughters and bought a house in Murfreesboro. Bob continued to work in Brentwood five days a week and made the commute daily from Murfreesboro until March of 2022 when he retired.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was an important part of Bob’s life. He first joined the church when they made the move from Ocean Springs, MS. Over the years he met many wonderful people through St. Paul’s supper clubs and other functions. He especially loved going to lunch after church with his “lunch bunch”. It became the highlight of his week.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Hilary D. and Clara Gilley Parker, his brother Morris Ed Parker, his cousins Maxine Flowers and Jerry Parker, his uncle’s Homer (Mildred), Houston (Lyda), and Kenneth (Dot) Parker, and his aunts Mamie Rogers (Omer), Opal Armstrong (Hilton), Eloise Edwards (William).

He is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years Valorie, his children Natalie and Robert, their spouses Jesse Bias and Tracie, his wonderful grandchildren Brooklynn and Madelynn Parker, his nephews Jon, Joe, and Jack Parker and their families, his cousins, Janice Watkins, Kathy Robertson, David Parker, Marcus Parker, Penka Coseo, Stanka Ferrell and their families, his brother-in-law Rudy Bramlett, sister in laws Cori Bramlett, Veronica Shaw, Jamie Amelio and their families

In lieu of flowers Bob would want you to take the time to go out to eat with your families and friends and enjoy good fellowship as much as he did.

Bob’s service will be at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 22, 2026, with military honors, and inurnment in the church columbarium.

An online guestbook for the Parker family is available at www.woodfinchapel.com.