Joseph Parker Jr., M.D. (PATH ’68)
He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1958 at the top of his class, winning the First Jackson-Hope Medal. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves until he was honorably discharged in January 1967 as a First Lieutenant. He subsequently attended medical school at the Medical College of
Louisville – Joseph C. Parker, Jr. of Louisville, Kentucky passed away on May 3rd, 2019 at the age of 81. He was born in Richmond, Virginia to Dr. Joseph C. Parker and Alice Cabell Horsley.
He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1958 at the top of his class, winning the First Jackson-Hope Medal. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves until he was honorably discharged in January 1967 as a First Lieutenant. He subsequently attended medical school at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and was inducted as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He then completed residency training in Pathology at the Mayo Clinic and finished his neuropathology fellowship at the Duke University Medical Center. He went on to have a distinguished academic career at many top tier medical institutions, including the New England Deaconess Hospital with an assistant professor title at the Harvard Medical School. He spent time at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, the University of Miami School of Medicine, the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences, the University of Missouri Truman Medical Center, and finally the University of Louisville School of Medicine. At the time of his retirement, he had authored over 130 journal articles, 95 abstracts, and 10 book chapters over the course of his 57 year medical career. While at the University of Louisville, he was in practice with his son, Dr. John Parker, from 2004 until his retirement in 2014. His knowledge and wisdom will live on in all of the students he mentored. He subsequently enjoyed time with his family and his beloved, surviving wife of 57 years, Patricia Parker.
He is survived by his two children: Dr. John Parker (Dr. Lynn Parker) and Nancy Cooper (Arthur Cooper), two grandchildren: Taylor Parker and Riley Cooper, and four siblings: Richard Parker, Melinda Skinner, Henry Parker, and Kate Parker.
The family would like to thank his caregivers at the Episcopal Church Home, Hosparus, and Caring Excellence, notably Camae.
A family memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial donations in his name may go to the Virginia Military Institute (www.vmi.edu) or the Episcopal Church Home (Louisville)