William Brinton Parker, Jr.
William Brinton Parker, Jr. of Kennent Square passed away peacefully on February 26. Mr. Parker is survived by his wife Barbara “Bobbie” Collins. He was 89. Born in Philadelphia, PA, he was the son of the late William Brinton Parker, Sr. and Naomi Cecelia Lodge.
Mr. Parker graduated from Westtown School in West Chester, PA and received a degree as an Electronic Engineer from Penn State University. He founded Applied Controls in 1969 which he ran for 21 years before retiring in 1990.
He is survived by his five children, Dorothy “Dee” Parker of Chadds Ford, Wayne Parker of Wallingford, Carol Stein (Andrew) of Springfield, Joan “Joanie” Hadik (John) of West Chester, and Sandra “Sandy” Bieri (Andreas) of Sanibel, FL. He is also survived by his six grandchildren, Megan Stein, Naomi Stein, Rebecca Peleg (Asaf), Aaron Stein, Emily Hadik, and Noah Hadik, and two great grandchildren Eliana and Toren. Mr. Parker is also survived by his sisters, Ruth Geen and Mary “Mimi” Steelman, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers Joseph Parker and Richard Parker. Mr. Parker is also preceded in death by his first wife and mother of his children, Lois Gibbons.
Among Mr. Parker’s passions were playing tennis, genealogy, Chester County history, and clocks. Mr. Parker was a Trustee for the Chester Counry Historical Society and donated countless hours of his time working there. He served as President of several property owners’ associations in both Pennsylvania and Florida.
Mr. Parker was a Trustee for Parkersville Meeting House in Parkersville, PA and worked at maintaining and preserving the property and the meeting house. He was an avid collector of clocks and watches and spent many hours restoring them. He was a former President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC). He also volunteered as a technology tutor at a local library in Florida.
During the last year of his life, Mr. Parker published a book entitled Parkersville: A Tiny But Busy Little Village In Chester County, Pennsylvania. As he described it, “A love for genealogy and Parkersville have kept me busy over the past thirty years, we’ve compiled these people, stories, photos, spreadsheets and databases to share this compact history with you.”
A Quaker style memorial service will be held on March 16, 2019 at 2pm at Kendal at Longwood, in the Auditorium. Private interment will be at the Parkersville Meeting House cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Mr. Parker’s name can be made to Parkersville Meeting House at www.gofundme.com/william-parker-jr-memorial-fund.
