Goodbye, Dad. I'll miss you...

Curtis Miller Parker, 68, died Friday, July 1, 2005, at his home in Gulfport. Mr. Parker was a life-long resident of Gulfport and a member of Grace Memorial Baptist Church. He was a graduate of Gulfport High School and attended the University of South Mississippi. He was a member of the Army Reserve 305th Field Hospital and was called to active duty during the Berlin Crisis. He worked at M. Salloum's Department Store for 42 years. In 1992, he retired from the Personnel Department of the City of Gulfport. He was preceded in death by his parents, Hugh A. Parker, Sr. and Mary Jane (Mae) Miller Parker, and his brother, Hugh A. Parker, Jr.

Survivors include his wife, Joyce Miller Parker of Gulfport; his son, Thomas Miller Parker and wife Isabelle; his daughter, Karen Parker Blakeney and husband Bryan; his two sisters, Dorothy Fayard of Biloxi and Ella Rae Chase and husband Cy of St. Maries, ID; seven grandchildren, Adam, Natalie, Steven, Michelle, and Nathan Blakeney, Claudia and Charlotte Parker.

A visitation will be held at Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, 15th Street, Gulfport, on Tuesday, July 5, 2005, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, July 6, 2005, 2:00 p.m., at Grace Memorial Baptist Church in Gulfport. Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to services.

Published in the Sun Herald on 7/5/2005.