A much-loved Warrnambool couple who died 10 days apart were passionate about the community they lived in.
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Ken Parker, who died on August 27 at age 83, was the Warrnambool mayor in 1986 and served as a councillor for nearly a decade. His wife of six decades Glenda (nee Bennie) passed away 10 days earlier.
The two were married at Warrnambool's Methodist Church on April 29, 1961. The couple had three children - Geoff Parker, Jane Dunn and Carolyn Mahony. They were devoted grandparents to Alex, Josephine and Bill Parker, Michael, Jakob, Oliver and Matt Dunn, and Liam, Joseph, Daniel and Emily Mahony.
Mr and Mrs Parker are also great grandparents to Ruby, Archie, Cody, Xavier and Benny.
Mr Parker's family paid tribute to the staff at Opal Riverside Community Care, where he spent the last six weeks of his life. Mr Parker had battled cancer for several years. Sadly, it spread to his brain in March.
Mrs Parker suffered from a heart attack after a fall about a month ago. The two were members of a number of community organisations and Mrs Parker was a well-known 100-yard sprinter in her younger years. "She held the Australian Junior Record for 100 yards in 11.4 seconds in 1953 and was in the 1956 Olympic training squad," her family told The Standard.
She narrowly missed out on a spot in the Olympic team.
Mr Parker was instrumental in helping the city council secure a number of parcels of land for public use.
One of these was named after him - Parkers Car Park.
He was also a familiar face at Parker Bros car dealership in Liebig Street, which was established by Mr Parker's father Percy. "Dad's brother Bob also worked in the business, who had started in about 1950. Bob retired from the business in about 1970 after having a heart attack. Percy and Rena (Mr Parker's mother) both passed away in 1974 leaving Dad to run the business by himself at the age of 35."
However, in 1985 Toyota terminated the dealership's contract as they didn't want their cars sold alongside other franchises. At this time the decision was made to close the business.
Mr Parker was a member of the Warrnambool Golf Club, the city's lawn tennis club, the Warrnambool Aero Club and Warrnambool Racing Pigeon Club, while Mrs Parker was a meals on wheels volunteer and was involved with the city's calisthenics and gymnastics clubs.
Mrs Parker was laid to rest on Monday, while Mr Parker's funeral will be held on Monday, September 5 at Eastern Park at 2pm.
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