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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The citizens of Kerrville lost a beloved neighbor |
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and much admired civic leader with the passing of Josephine |
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Schreiner Parker on April 13, 2009, at the age of 92; and |
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WHEREAS, A native of Kerrville, "Dodo" Parker was born on |
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November 16, 1916, to Scott and Josephine Schreiner; she attended |
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Schreiner Institute, graduated from Tivy High School, and earned |
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her bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin, where |
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she was active in the Curtain Club and Pi Beta Phi sorority; she |
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later studied voice in San Antonio and Los Angeles; and |
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WHEREAS, She married E. C. Parker, Jr., on January 29, 1942, |
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and while her husband served overseas during World War II, Mrs. |
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Parker lived in New York City, studying music and voice at Juilliard |
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School of Music and singing on occasion with the USO; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1947, the couple settled in Kerrville, and in |
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addition to raising her children, Mrs. Parker became an |
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enthusiastic volunteer, supporting the Cub Scouts, teaching Red |
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Cross water safety courses, and chairing the Kerr County United |
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Fund Drive; she also shared her time with the boards of the Auld |
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Youth Center and Kerrville Cemetery Association, served as |
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president of the PTA at Starkey Elementary School, Peterson Middle |
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School, and Tivy High School, and became the first woman to be |
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elected to the Kerrville Independent School District Board; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Parker maintained a lifelong interest in the |
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performing arts; she produced elaborate water shows in the Cascades |
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Swimming Pool and hosted a radio talk show, interviewing such |
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celebrities as Audie Murphy and Gene Autry; moreover, she held |
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leadership positions with the Kerrville Community Concerts |
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Association, Hill Country Arts Foundation, Kerrville Community |
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Theater, and the Texas Arts Alliance, and she enjoyed playing roles |
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in several productions at the Point Summer Theater; and |
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WHEREAS, A devoted UT alumnus, Mrs. Parker served on the |
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board of the institution's Arts and Sciences Foundation and as |
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district councilwoman of the Texas Ex-Students' Association, board |
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member of the UT Chancellor's Council, and member of the American |
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Association of University Women; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Parker was also an advocate for Texas ranchers; |
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appointed to the Governing Board of the National Wool Growers |
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Association Auxiliary, she served as president of the Texas Sheep |
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and Goat Raisers Association Auxiliary and as a member of the Kerr |
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County Chapter Auxiliary board of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers |
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Association; and |
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WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan's most passionate pursuit was |
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working to preserve local history for future generations; a member |
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of the James Kerr Chapter of the Daughters of the American |
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Revolution and the Captain Charles Schreiner Chapter of the United |
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Daughters of the Confederacy, she was also a charter member and |
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president of the Hill Country Preservation Society; she devoted |
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more than three decades to the establishment of the Hill Country |
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Museum at the Captain Charles Schreiner Mansion, the home of her |
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great-grandfather, and considered it her greatest achievement; and |
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WHEREAS, A gracious and giving woman, Dodo Parker contributed |
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to her community through a lifetime of purposeful endeavor, and she |
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leaves behind a legacy of good works that will resonate for years to |
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come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Josephine Schreiner |
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Parker and extend sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to |
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her husband, E. C. Parker, Jr.; to her children, Scott and Barbara |
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Parker, Tobin and Kim Parker, and Cee Parker and Carlos Ibarra; to |
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her grandchildren, Scott, Lauren, John, Schreiner, and Tobin; and |
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to her other relatives and many friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Josephine |
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Schreiner Parker. |