William I. Parker, Jr.
July 25, 1930 ~ Dec. 28, 2018
William (Bill) Ivar Parker passed away Dec. 28, 2018, in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was 88 years old. William was born on July 25, 1930, to William and Winifred Parker of Salina, Kan. Bill joined the Navy and served as a Corpsman during the Korean War. After leaving the Navy, Bill attended Oklahoma University.
Bill spent his career in hospital administration and was passionate about health care. He spent most of his career working in small rural hospitals around the country and in Canada but truly enjoyed working with the employees at Rangely District Hospital. One of his proudest moments was bringing St. Mary’s Careflight Service to Rangely where he served as hospital administrator in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Bill never met a stranger and had an amazing gift to meet people and make them feel as though they had been long time friends.
Bill had a love for the outdoors and was an accomplished fisherman. He especially loved spending time on the White River near Meeker, Colo. In his spare time he enjoyed tending a vegetable garden and was a talented artist, sharing many of his sketches and paintings with his daughters. Bill was also an avid reader and always had a stack of books on his bedside table.
Bill is survived by his daughters: Michele Morgan (Regas Halandras) of Meeker, Colo., Stephanie DeSpirito (John DeSpirito) of Redding, Conn., Kimberly Bullen (Mike Bullen) of Grand Junction, Colo., Kristie Wheeler (William Wheeler) of Wichita, Kan., and seven grandchildren. “You were enough just the way you were.” You were loved and will be missed.
Bill is preceded in death by his parents and sister Mary K. Huber.
