Wakefield Class of 1960
In Memoriam - Faculty

Deceased Faculty Members that served the Class of 1960

There are lots of competing priorities when it comes to scheduling what's next to improve Wakefield's Class of 1960 web pages.  An "In Memoriam" section for faculty has been on the To-Do list since work began on ramping-up our web pages back in July, 2009.  When the news herewith reached us, it seemed like the time to get the new section started had come.  Other obituaries for other faculty/staff will be added as our 50th reunion gets nearer.

You will all remember the familiar face below from the Wakefield school office.  Ms. Parker, mother of our classmate Fred Parker, passed away on the last day of October, 2009.

Lois Goodfellow Parker, 97, died early Saturday morning October 31, 2009 due to complications of pancreatic cancer.  She died peacefully in her sleep at Mount Vernon Hospital. She was born October 27, 1912 in Gracemont, Oklahoma and delivered by her father when the doctor did not arrive in time from town. She was one of seven siblings raised on a farm in the Oklahoma plains.

She attended Oklahoma A&M majoring in music, then briefly taught school in Oklahoma. She was selected to the All-State women’s basketball team when she was a senior in high school and received an offer to play at Oklahoma A&M. In 1934 she was elected Oklahoma State Secretary of the League of Young Democrats by the largest majority vote of any candidate at that time.

She gained notoriety in 1933 when she aided in the capture of the escaped convict, Frank Sawyer. In addition to write ups in the Daily Oklahoman and Oklahoma City Times her exploits in the Sawyer case were also placed in the Associated Press, eliciting a world-wide response including a proposal of marriage from a British army officer stationed in India. She earned the title of "Oklahoma Wildcat" for her daring capture of the escaped convict. As a result of her notoriety and beauty, she was offered a Hollywood screen test.

She was married to Frederic Thompson Parker, then a Captain in the US Army, in December 1940. As a military family they were stationed in various locations including Nassau, Bahamas and Honolulu, Hawaii. The family then settled in Northern Virginia in 1951. She was employed by the Arlington County school system at Wakefield High School from 1954 through 1976.

She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Mayflower Society.

She is survived by her two sons Fred and Jim, three grandsons Charlie, Jonathan and Edward and one great grandson, Spencer.

There will be a visitation held at Murphy Funeral Home, 4515 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, Virginia on Saturday November 7th from 1 to 4 PM. At 3:30 attendees are invited to share some of their memories of Lois to those assembled.

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