Barbara C. Parker

Barbara C. Parker, wife of the late Herman W. Parker, passed away Tuesday, November 1, 2005 at Avery Heights, Hartford, after a brief illness. Born on March 14, 1912, she was the daughter of the late Herbert H. Cutler and Mary Jane Patterson Cutler. Barbara was a resident of Newtown, until retirement when she and her husband moved to Heritage Village in Southbury. She lived at Avery Heights for the last five years of her life. Barbara was the town clerk of Newtown for seven years, and was actively involved in the American Field Service Program, a volunteer at Danbury Hospital, the Red Cross Blood Bank, Meals on Wheels, and a life member of the Newtown Historical Society. She was a member of the Newtown Woman's Club and active in the women's fellowships of Newtown Congregational Church and the Southbury United Church of Christ. She is survived by her sister, Geraldine Spiegelhalter of Naperville, IL; and her brother, William Cutler of Bradenton, FL. She was a loving mother to her four daughters and her sons-in-law, Susan Fellman and her husband Stanley of West Hartford, Gay Parker and her husband Charles McClain of Fresno, CA, Marianne Ludwig and her husband Thomas of Charlotte, NC, and Barbara McIlravy and her husband Arthur of Bethel. She will be greatly missed by her five grandchildren, Stephen Ludwig, Leigh Clinard, Elizabeth Lambertson, Claire Fellman, and Dana Parker McClain, and her five nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the staff at Avery Heights Sub Acute Unit 1 and Hospice and Palliative Care of CTVNA for their loving care. Barbara had a great zest for living and embraced life with curiosity and enthusiasm. She loved her family and friends, books, music, crossword puzzles, and playing bridge and Scrabble with her many friends at Avery Heights. To celebrate her life, a memorial service will be held at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 814 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, on Saturday, November 5, at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Philanthropic Educational Organization at PEO Projects, c/o Colleen Carpenter, 46 Lake Ridge Rd, Southbury, CT 06488, or to Hospice and Palliative Care of CTVNA, 111 Founders Plaza, 2nd Floor, East Hartford, CT 06108.