Obituary of Janet Parker

With heavy hearts the family of Janet Marie (Clark) Parker of Hanwell, NB, announce that she passed away peacefully, but far too soon, on August 26, 2011. Named for her grandmother, she was born Dec. 2, 1938 in Woodstock, NB, the oldest child of the late Sam Clark and Muriel Clark. She spent a lot of her early years with her grandparents, Jean and Arthur (Da) Birmingham, while her father was overseas with the Carleton-York Regiment. A kind, intelligent woman with a distinctive sense of humour she inherited from her father, Janet worked in Ferro's drugstore as a teenager and planned a career in pharmacology. Instead she married in 1957 and stopped her studies to raise a family. Ten years later she was a single mother who moved her three children (and the dog) from Renforth to Birch Grove (Fairvale). Janet became the secretary at Rothesay Junior High School in 1969 and was soon loved by teachers and students alike. Although she was a busy focused working Mom and homemaker her home was always open to and typically filled with half the kids in the neighbourhood. Janet believed in her children, comforted them and supported their dreams and their independence. She was a true friend and confidant. And she had many friends throughout her life including her colleagues, neighbours, the bridge club in Renforth and the Neuropathy group in Fredericton. Janet married her soul mate Wayne Parker in 1976 and they had a lot of fun together: gardening and camping (30 years at Martin Head and year-round trips to the cottage), with the Ken Gents hockey team, (including the trip to Copenhagen) and playing 45's with friends and at boisterous family gatherings. Janet and Wayne moved to Hanwell in 1980. There she started a new career as a tax preparer. She worked in Fredericton for H&R Block and then for Dawnalen Systems Inc. until she retired in 2007. Janet's family is very grateful to Dr. David Flower and for the special care she received in the oncology and palliative sections of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital. Janet was predeceased by her father, Sam; brothers, Alan, Jimmy and Johnny; sister, Joan Lord; son-in-law, Keith Davidge, and her in-laws, Fred and Phyllis Parker of Church Street, Port Williams, NS. She is survived by her devoted husband, Wayne; three grateful children, Heather (Davidge) Jones, Yarmouth, NS; Chris (Ronda Fox) Jones, Toronto, ON and Stephen (Melissa) Jones, Nauwigewauk, NB; two stepchildren, Stephen Parker, Ottawa, ON and Fred (Kristin) Parker, Nepean, ON, three grandchildren, Emma, Olivia and Carson Jones and three step-grandchildren, Grace, Jack and Kate Parker. She is also survived by her mother, Muriel; two sisters, Lynn Clark (Mike McCann), Oxford Station, ON and Penny Johnson, Nackawic, NB; her sister-in-law, Muriel Clark, Woodstock, NB; several nieces and nephews. For those who wish, remembrances may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.