GEORGE ANTHONY "TONY" PARKER

PARKER
GEORGE ANTHONY "TONY"
Age 81, of Cheswick, passed away November 23, 2017, due to complications from a stroke. He was the beloved husband of Susan Parker, of Glenshaw, to whom he was married 43 years; and father of John Parker, of Brooklyn, New York. The oldest son of George Ira and Margrett Ghrist Parker, Tony was born on June 24, 1936, in Harrison Township. He is also survived by his younger brother, Richard G. Parker, of Bath Township, Ohio. After graduating from Aspinwall High School, Tony earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Carnegie Tech and a PhD from Penn State. He worked in Applied Chemistry for U.S. Steel and St. Joe Minerals at Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, where he thrilled small visitors by freezing things in liquid nitrogen and dropping them to smash on the floor of his lab. Tony went on to teach chemistry at many western Pennsylvania universities, including Penn State, Clarion, Indiana, St. Vincent, and Seton Hill. A (nearly) lifelong resident of Cheswick, Tony was known for such peculiarities as rollerblading down the middle of Spruce Street while carrying a hockey stick and punting a football, by himself, back and forth across the baseball field behind his house. He served on the board of the Springdale Library and on various committees at Walter Chapel United Methodist Church in Rural Ridge. Tony was a voracious reader who particularly enjoyed history, astronomy, and enormous classic novels. His interest in astronomy led him to try finding all 110 Messier objects with his telescopes. A big, if pessimistic, sports fan (hockey, football, baseball), Tony once received stitches from the Penguins' trainer after being struck in the head with a wayward puck at the Civic Arena. He coached Little League in both Cheswick and Harwick, but did not teach his kid to hit left-handed, as he himself was, probably his only failure as a parent. Tony enjoyed music of all kinds, from seeing John Coltrane at Penn State in the 60s to his Pittsburgh Symphony subscription in the 70s and 80s to torturing his wife with AC/DC in the 2000s. He and Susan hiked and biked trails across western Pennsylvania. His daily challenge in later years was sudoku, with which he was usually successful. Tony was a really good guy and is sorely missed. Friends and family are invited to attend his celebration of life gathering that will take place on Saturday, April 7, 2018, from 12 noon until 2 p.m. In THE CHARLES B. JARVIE SPRINGDALE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 801 Pgh. St.
www.jarviefuneralhome.com