Wade Parker

Wade Malcolm Parker, 95, of San Antonio, Texas passed away on August 5, 2022. He was born to James Aubrey Parker and Angie Mae Singletary Parker on July 10, 1927, in Kirbyville, Texas.

Wade grew up in Kirbyville and graduated from Kirbyville High School at the top of his class in May 1944. One month after graduating, he boarded a train going to San Diego, California, on his way to basic training as an enlistee in the U.S. Navy. Seeing a recruiting poster that said, “Your Country Needs You,” Wade’s mother said to him, at a height of 6’0” and weighing 120 pounds, “If our country needs you, we’re in big trouble.” Upon completion of his Naval service, he attended the University of Texas at Austin and entered medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. While there he met his future wife, Geraldine (Jerry) Dye, who was in the first Baccalaureate Nursing Class at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. They were married on June 9, 1951.

In 1953, after interning at the now Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Texas, he and Jerry settled in Silsbee, Texas, where Wade established a general medical practice. In the early fall of 1964, he was involved in a serious auto accident. Wade and Jerry made the decision while he was rehabbing for Wade to go back to school in order to slow down his hectic life. In July 1965, he moved his family of three boys and a girl to Temple, Texas, where he began his residency in pathology. Wade completed his residency in August 1969 and began his pathology career at Baptist Hospital of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, Texas. He retired from Baptist Hospital in 1992. In 1993, Wade and Jerry moved to Kerrville, Texas, on the 12th hole of the Riverhill Country Club. They eventually moved to San Antonio, Texas, in 2015, where he spent the rest of his life.

Wade and Jerry were avid golfers. Wade was also a passionate card player. Gin rummy, bridge, poker, you name it — Wade was up for it. He enjoyed the competition and the camaraderie of his golfing and card-playing friends. Wade was also a storyteller and was known for his wit. He enjoyed making up stories to tell his grandchildren, especially those including “No Nose Whoosh,” the local villain, while he was the “High Sheriff of Oakdale, Louisiana.” Wade could come up with a story involving “No Nose” on the fly and leave his grandchildren delighted.

Wade is survived by his wife of 71 years, Jerry, and his children: Scott Parker and wife Colleen, Paul Parker and wife Carol, James Parker and wife Donna, and Amy Parker Hurst. He is also survived by his sisters Linda Frank and husband Mike, and Priscilla Rouse, and his cousin Fred Castille, along with several nieces and nephews. Wade leaves behind his eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren with another due in January 2023.

Wade was preceded in death by his parents, James Aubrey Parker and Angie Mae Singletary Parker, his grandson Christopher Hurst, and various aunts, uncles, and cousins Our family thanks Lucy Solarzyck, his caregiver over the last 2 years, and the staff at The Forum’s Memory Care unit.

The family will hold a private memorial service later this year. Wade’s final resting place will be at the columbarium at the First United Methodist Church in Kerrville, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Geraldine Dye Parker Nursing Scholarship at the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.

Arrangements were made with Porter Loring Mortuary in San Antonio, Texas.

2 Timothy 4: 6-8 (RSV) “For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”