Robert Wayne Parkey

Dr. Robert “Bobby” Parkey, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away on February 7, 2023, in Coppell, Texas. He was eighty-four. Born to Gloria “Alfredda” and Jack Parkey on July 17, 1938, in Krum, Texas, Bobby had a childhood full of adventures on his family’s dairy farm with his siblings, Barbara and Benny. In one often-told story, he taught Barbara how to shoot a BB gun when she was barely big enough to cock it—much to his chagrin, she used this aptitude later to “hold ‘em off” when Bobby and his friends tried to take her BB gun back.

Bobby met the love of his life, Nancy, when they were in the fifth grade at Krum Elementary. As Nancy describes, “It was love at first sight. I can still remember Bobby in his striped shirt.” Bobby and Nancy were married on August 9, 1958. On their wedding day, Bobby gave Nancy eleven white roses and told her she was the twelfth; his accompanying note said, “For our last date, I’ll pick you up at 8:45, never to say goodbye again.” They were together for over sixty years and share three children, Wendell, Todd, and Amy, and fifteen grandchildren. Bobby passed down many life lessons to his children, but as Amy recalls, one of the most important was his emphasis on “stick-to-it-ivity” and the power of positivity. Bobby relished the opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren, building their dollhouses and making a creek for them to play in on sunny summer days.

Growing up on a dairy farm, Bobby found a love for science early. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in physics. While working on a masters’ degree in physics, he was encouraged by a friend to consider medical school instead. This decision would shape the trajectory of his professional life.

Bobby served as the longest-acting chair of radiology at UT-Southwestern from 1977 until his retirement in 2010. He made important contributions to nuclear scanning techniques and dynamic blood pool imaging, both more sensitive, safe, and effective methods for diagnosing and localizing heart attacks, and was presented with a Lifetime Service Award from the American Board of Radiology and a Gold Medal from the Texas Radiological Society. However, he was most proud of teaching his many students and residents, and so humble he often introduced himself first as a farmer. His entire career at UT-Southwestern and Parkland spanned forty years—Bobby described his motivations for his work: “The people who work at Parkland are dedicated to helping the underserved. If you’ve worked at Parkland, it’s in your blood.”

Bobby fervently believed in the importance of positivity and perseverance. His trademark optimism and sense of humor were constant—in his last years, his favorite straw fedora gave breakfasts at home a distinctly debonair air, and he never passed on an opportunity to conclude a family prayer with a rousing rendition of the "Amen" song from the film Lilies of the Field. One of Bobby's favorite stories was that of a father and son walking on the beach where thousands of starfish were stranded after a storm. Noticing the boy throwing the starfish back into the ocean, the father asked: "Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference." The son bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the sea, saying, "I made a difference to that one." Everyone who knew Bobby can attest to the profound difference he made in each of our lives with his compassion, humor, and wisdom.