Quay Parker
The Honorable Quay Frederick Parker, Esquire, received his summons from the Great I Am in the early morning hours of Oct. 20, 2018. He was welcomed to Beulah Land by his parents, Fred and Lyna Jewel, brother-in-law Steve Wood, and son-in-law Brian Wilson. Also there to celebrate were extended family and friends.
Quay was born at home on Nov. 6. 1942, due to a shortage of doctors on the home front during World War II in Arkansas City, Kansas. It was a difficult birth. He was saved by a nurse that didn’t give up on him after the doctor turned his attention to saving his 100-pound mother, who had just delivered a nine pound “ginger-headed” boy. After the war, his family moved to Abilene for his dad to attend Abilene Christian College. There, Quay attended the ACC “demonstration school.”
At 12, Quay and his family moved to Oklahoma where Quay graduated from Norman High School in 1961. There he excelled in cross country and speech. He finished second at both of those state meets. High school was also where Quay began his political career. After winning his election as junior class president, he suffered his first and only defeat at the polls for student council president. He was devastated! By the way, he never lost another election and was quick to point out that his brother never won one.
Quay attended Oklahoma City University his freshman year on a half-track, half-drama scholarship, His folks decided he could attend ACC and live at home cheaper than living in the dorms at OCU, so they moved back to Abilene. At ACC, Quay was a member of Sub-T-16 social club and discovered Bible selling door-to-door for the Southwestern Company. While with Southwestern Company, he sold for five summers which supported a family and paid for college and law school expenses. He was a Top 20 salesman and crew leader out of a sales force of 4,000 student salesmen.
Between college and law school, Quay was a pharmaceutical rep for Upjohn. His little brother talked him into going to law school. As Quay put it, “I went from being a drug dealer to a lawyer; I still don’t know if that was a step up or down…” Quay graduated from Oklahoma City University Law School in 1973.
Returning to Texas, he served as Shackelford County’s City and County Attorney, and over 16 years as the District Attorney and District Judge for the 259th. After retiring from the 259th position in 2002. Quay became a Senior Judge, commonly called a “visiting judge.” He continued to try jury cases “from cussins’ to capital murder” until six weeks before his death from leukemia.
While in Albany, he served as a Deacon and Elder of the Church of Christ and co-narrator of the Fort Griffin Fandangle for 20 years.
He is survived by his brother, H.O. Quanah Parker and his girls, Paige Prince and husband Troy, Piper Tankersley and husband Trent, and Prairie Wilson Freeman and husband Danny. Quay would always say, “The stork brought my girls, but the boys came in pickups!”
He is survived by the girls’ mother, Connie Jo Wood; grandchildren Cade Prince and wife Gabby, Clair Prince, Chloé Tankersley Early, Cache Tankersley and wife Kathryn, Carson Wilson Turner and husband Logan, Conor Wilson Miller and husband Brady, and Curry Wilson; great-grandchildren Willa, Lyla, and August Early and Baker and Duke Prince; along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He is also survived by his wife Vicki and her children, Jennifer, Elyse, Kevin, and their children.
One of Quay’s favorite verses comes from King Solomon’s prayer: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this, thy so great people…’ I Kings 3:9. PD
