Dearl St. Clair Parker Jr.

A memorial service celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2022 with a visitation at 10:00am, and service beginning at 11:00am at Westside Family Church, Speedway, 3001 N. 115th Street, Kansas City, KS 66109.

Dearl was born in St. Joseph, MO. He was a graduate of Benton High School, class of 1968. After high school, he moved to Kansas City and began working at the University of Kansas Medical Center. For 35 years, he worked in the Lab Animal Resources Department, where he cared for research animals as part of a world-class team, working to advance medicine and technology through several different projects, including the development of HIV/AIDS treatments. After retiring in 2004, he enjoyed some much needed time off, until boredom got the best of him. He returned to the workplace in 2005, as a driver for Assisted Transportation, a wheelchair transport company. In 2012, he decided to embrace retirement fully, and enjoyed time with his family and friends, as well as volunteering in several different capacities.

Dearl married Patricia Catherine Blanchard on October 22, 1976. They enjoyed 44 wonderful years of marriage together before her passing in 2021. They met at the beginning of 1976 on a blind date at a Super Bowl party where mutual friends worked to set them up, and by Valentine’s Day just a few weeks later, they were engaged. Together, their union birthed two amazing daughters, Anna and Amy. He and Pat raised their family in the Turner area, where they lived for almost 30 years before moving to the Piper area, and then finally settling in Basehor, where they enjoyed being a part of the Pebblebrooke Retirement Community for several years.

Dearl was a longtime member of Stony Point Christian Church in Kansas City, KS, and later went on to attend Grace Christian Fellowship of Wyandotte County, as well as Victory Assembly in Bonner Springs, KS. For the past 17 years, he has been a devoted member of the Speedway Campus of Westside Family Church in Kansas City, KS. Throughout the years, he served in various capacities as a deacon and communion leader. For a number of years, he faithfully helped with set up and tear down for services when the church was meeting in temporary locations. For the past several years, he enjoyed welcoming people while he served as a greeter. He truly had a servant’s heart. He would give anyone the shirt off his back, and never sought any praise or attention. He was always eager to help out wherever and whomever he could. Not only was Dearl active in his church, but also in his community. He was a longtime member of the neighborhood group where they lived in Turner.

Dearl enjoyed several hobbies throughout the course of his life. For many years in the early part of their marriage, Dearl and Pat were avid bowlers, and looked forward to their weekly league.

From card games, chess, checkers, and dominoes, to outdoor games like horseshoes, corn hole, and bocce ball, Dearl enjoyed playing games and the time spent with family and friends that those opportunities provided. He wouldn’t call himself a professional angler, but he did enjoy fishing and the quiet reflection and serenity it provided while outdoors. For a period of time in the early years of Cider Hill Family Orchard, Dearl worked helping Jeff and Joan Shearer with property upkeep and various jobs. When he wasn’t working, he was usually still around, fishing in the different ponds around the property. His free time was often spent at the orchard enjoying the company of family and friends, picnics, and fishing. More recently, Dearl developed an interest in woodworking, and it ignited his creativity to make things like squirrel feeders and other useful items.

Dearl was over the moon when he became a grandpa. Being a dad to daughters, his grandsons brought a whole new level of joy to his heart. He enjoyed spending as much time as possible with Parker, playing with toys, teaching him to fish, walks around his neighborhood and visits to the fire station. Just when he thought life with a grandson couldn’t get any better, he soon had 2 to enjoy, which became such good medicine for his grieving heart after losing the love of his life.

Dearl was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 44 years, Pat, his parents, Dearl S. Parker, Sr. and Annie E. Parker, as well as his brother, Richard Broce, and sister, Wilma Couldry. He is survived by his daughters, Anna Parker (Damon Bland), and Amy Parsons (Phil), grandsons Parker and Will, sisters, Louise (Rick) Gillip, and Wanda Letchworth, Brother-in-law, Bob Blanchard, 13 nieces and nephews, as well as a host of many cousins.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care, or to The American Cancer Society, Relay for Life,

https://www.kchospice.org/donation/

https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?fr_id=102524&pg=personal&px=58094952

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.chapelhill-butler.com for the Parker family.