Dian Parker

Barbara Dian Parker, of Houston, passed away peacefully Sunday, July 24, 2022 after a courageous eight-year battle with cancer. Services will be held at 10:00 a.m., July 30, 2022, at St. Stephens United Methodist Church (2003 W. 43rd St., Houston, TX 77018) with the Rev. Nathan Lonsdale Bledsoe officiating. A celebration of life reception will immediately follow at The Spaghetti Western (1951 W T C Jester Blvd., Houston, TX 77008). There will be no scheduled visitation.

Dian was born November 4, 1942, in Houston and was the only child to Charlotte and Timothy Small. She graduated from Reagan High School in the Heights. From an early age, Dian loved animals, her friends, and telling stories.

Sixty-three years ago on Christmas Eve night, Dian went on a blind date with Gary Parker. (She didn’t want to at first, but her friend called at the last minute to say “he’s cute!”) In 1962, Gary and Dian married and remained devoted to one another until he passed away in 2019. Dian deeply loved her two sons, her daughter-in-law, her granddaughter, and the variety of pets that she invited into her home (and some that just wouldn’t leave).

Dian loved music, gardening, walking, reading, and, most of all, talking with her friends and family. She was kind, funny, smart, and relentlessly positive. She also enjoyed participating in dinner clubs with her friends and neighbors, and she was proud to celebrate her and Gary's 50th wedding anniversary with many of them at a party hosted by her two sons in 2012.

She spent most of her professional career as a banker, and she held a number of volunteer roles throughout her life, including zoo reptile keeper (she only lost one giant lizard during a show-and-tell at a library…that she told her family about). After retirement, she spent her time with her garden club friends, her book club friends, her church friends, her walking friends – she had so many friends! – and her family. She also enjoyed being a member of her church and making audio recordings of books and articles for the blind.

In 2014, Dian was diagnosed with breast cancer, and that is when her relentless positivity really showed itself. Dian volunteered for and completed numerous experimental treatments and drug trials, furthering cancer research and improving health outcomes for generations to come. She was continually thankful for her dedicated team at MD Anderson that treated her so well – particularly her lead doctor, Dr. Rashmi K. Murthy – and the amazing friends who took her to and from the hospital.

Dian changed her name to “Grammy” in July 2017 when her first and only grandchild, Vonn, was born. Grammy had been waiting for Vonn for a very long time, and she was very good at her new role as grandmother. She called Vonn her “sunshine” and loved holding her and talking with her, and they would kiss their respective devices when saying goodbye to one another on FaceTime.

Dian was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Small, and her husband, Gary Parker. She is survived by her two sons, Jody and Rusty; Rusty’s wife, Lindy; and her granddaughter, Vonn.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the MD Anderson Cancer Center (http://mdacc.convio.net/goto/dianparker) or St. Stephen's United Methodist Church (2003 W. 43rd St., Houston, Texas 77018).