James Parker Sroufe

1941 - 2019

Former Anchorage, Alaska, resident James Parker Sroufe, born March 23, 1941, in Pasco, Wash., passed away in Bellevue, Wash., on March 29, 2019, of complications from Parkinson's disease. Parker was the oldest of three sons of James Parker and Helen Marsh Sroufe. He attended Lincoln High School in Seattle, Wash., through his junior year in 1958, when his family moved to Anchorage. Parker graduated from Anchorage High as a Merit Scholar in 1959.
The 1958 trip to Alaska was an automobile adventure of a lifetime. In July 1958, Parker, who was 17 years old at the time, was called upon by his parents to be the designated driver up the Alcan Highway. In the car along with Parker was his mother Helen, two brothers, Russ and John, a neighbor girl along for the ride and the family dog, Dutchess. The road was dirt and gravel all the way. One stretch of the highway was surrounded by forest fire: burning trees falling onto the road. Parker was a determined driver who made his daily goal to maintain his place in the caravan of cars traveling along the way. Standing at the door of any restaurant while the family ate, he watched the cars go by and determined who he would have to pass to keep his order.
In Alaska, Parker worked construction jobs to finance his way through college and graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1963. Parker served in the Army Reserves from 1965 to 1972. Parker married his life partner, Evelyn Cruz Graves, in 1965.
Parker had a diverse business career. He worked for Boeing after graduation, owned a tavern in Bellingham, worked in public accounting with Peat, Marwick & Mitchell and served in a series of CFO and CEO positions in various industries - from Unico Properties to Princess Cruises, to Attachmate Corporation to ESCA Corporation, to Ostex Corporation, a bio-tech firm. Parker co-founded a successful hedge fund, Webster Capital, and ran it from 1996 to 2000.
In 1987, Parker helped form the first University of Washington Economics Department Visiting Committee, became its first Chair and established a scholarship for disadvantaged students studying economics.
Parker was preceded in death by his mother and father; and a brother, Russell. Parker is survived by his wife, Evelyn Cruz Sroufe of Bellevue; and his brother, John Sroufe of Anchorage.
He will be interred at Calvary Cemetery in Seattle. Remembrances may be sent to the University of Washington School of Economics, J. Parker and Evelyn Cruz Sroufe Endowed Scholarship.