David Henry Parker

David Henry Parker, 77, of Capital Care Grandview in Edmonton died on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at the University of Alberta Hospital from complications due to Parkinson’s and an anoxic brain injury. David was hospitalized for a week prior to his death on an acute care diagnostic ward.

David was born on December 3, 1946, at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton to Percy Parker and Agnes (Ramstad ) Parker. His British heritage came from his father and his Norwegian heritage from his mother. It was the beginning of the postwar baby boom and there were about ninety babies in the nursery.  

David spent his first years with his parents and his  younger sister, Patricia, on the top floor of a house in Jasper Place on the west end of Edmonton. David and his family then moved to the new Park Allen neighborhood  on the south side and David began school.  Percy was now a very successful  realtor and an insurance salesman and after moving the family to the Parkview area for a time, he decided to try his fortune in California. But soon the family felt more comfortable going back to Canada.

During the next decade, David lived and went to school in Medicine Hat, Wetaskiwin and Stettler, where his father worked as a social worker in the newly formed Alberta Department of Welfare in the childcare division.

In 1964, David graduated from grade 12 at Camrose Lutheran College (now Augustana). David was very young when he graduated and spent some time working out his career plan. But by the time he was twenty-nine he had a BA and an MA in economics and had also partially finished his PhD.

He had tried many things during this time: banking, interning for the federal government in Ottawa, working as a nursing attendant at the Red Deer training school working as a teaching assistant in the department of economics, University of Alberta.

On August 1, 1981, David married Naomi Lokken. They had two children, Erik and Ingrid.

David started a twenty-two year career as a labour market economist for the provincial Departments of Labour and Advanced Education. He analyzed the labour market statistics sent out every month by Statistics Canada. However, in 1997, the government reorganized and restructured many departments and many civil servants with humanities degrees were let go or given early retirement and David was one of them. He was fifty-one years old with a young family but he was an example of great resilience. He pumped gas, delivered the Edmonton Journal, worked as a security guard, spent a year working at the Northern Forestry Centre, and drove a school bus. Finally, at the age of fifty-seven, he became a bus driver for the Edmonton Transit System, from which retired at the age of sixty-nine.

In his retirement, he had hoped to do many things that he had been longing to do but his hands started to shake and his body was worn out. But he pressed on and decided to turn to music. He had a lovely tenor voice but had not learned to read music so he joined two choirs which he enjoyed very much. When Covid hit the world, it was very hard on him, as it was for many. And he suffered from some mild strokes and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s . After being hospitalized several times in 2022, he moved to Capital  Care Grandview. It was difficult to for him to leave his home and his wife but he and Naomi tried to manage with daily visits, FaceTime and  trips out. And with his usual resilience, he enjoyed reading the paper every day, the daily activities, and the volunteer dogs who came to interact with the residents.  

David is survived by his wife, Naomi, of forty-three years, his son, Erik (Courtenay) and his daughter, Ingrid, his grandchildren, Oscar and Maeve and his sister, Patricia (Hugh) Murray, his nephews, Scott and Michael Murray and many relatives and friends. He was predeceased by his parents, Percy and Agnes Parker.

Memorial gifts may be made to Canadian Lutheran World Relief, to Lutheran Theological Seminary of Saskatoon, to Trout Unlimited Canada or to a charity of choice.

The family thanks the staff of Capital Care Grandview and the doctors and nurses on 5G3 at the University of Alberta Hospital for their care of David.

A funeral service will be held at Ascension Lutheran Church, 8405 83 Street NW, Edmonton, on Saturday, July 20th at 1:00 pm, with interment to follow at at Glenwood Memorial Gardens.

For those who are unable to attend please see the livestream link available below.

Thank you to the staff at Capital Care Grandview for their loving care.

Livestream Link:

https://youtube.com/live/R2R4iz6gJUw?feature=share