George Parker Widman

George Parker Widman, of Trappe, PA., an award-winning photojournalist, died Friday, March 8, 2024, at home, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Widman was born Sept. 16, 1944, in Utica, NY, to Eleanor W. (Parker) and David E. Widman, and raised in New Hartford, NY, where he attended local schools before studying photography at Rochester Institute of Technology.

In 1970, he married Sarah Elizabeth Howard, who predeceased him in death in June 2012. The late couple are survived by son Robert Duncan Widman, his wife Irais, and two grandsons, Ethan and Malcolm, and by son James Parker Widman. He's also survived by his wonderful neighbors, including Ed & Mickey Beckwith, Nina Melwert, and Lynne Wiley among others.

Other survivors include his brother, David E. Widman, Jr., and sister Barbara Ann Winfield. Another sister, Eleanor Jean Turner, died in April 2020. Other extended family include Sarah's sister, Lucy Hastings, and brother Frederick Howard.

He worked briefly for the Gannett Utica newspapers after college, before being drafted for the Vietnam War, and served four years in the U.S. Navy's intelligence field.

In 1969 Widman returned to Gannett Utica before transferring to Gannett Binghamton

for two years, then returned to Utica again as the photography director.

In the 1970s, while the photo chief, he also freelanced for numerous print news outlets, including the Associated press, covering the NFL and general news, including, for the AP, the Lake Placid, NY, and Moscow, U.S.S.R., Olympics in 1980.

In 1982 he became a staff photographer for the AP, receiving its top awards for news and feature photos, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his photograph of a homeless man in Philadelphia.

He considered his actual flying of the Goodyear Blimp (and nearly crashing it) before the 1985 Live Aid Concert in Philly to be the highlight of his career. Teaching photo lighting to hundreds of South American photojournalists in Cartagena, Columbia with Bob Laramie, with help from Jon Falk, was a gas.

Enjoying his Scotch-Canadian ancestry, Widman has made several visits to Scotland; several photo trips to New Zealand, which he loved; and in 1994, to Vietnam with his friend and sponsor, Bob Olender.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, March 16th, in Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ Cemetery, 532 E. Main St., Collegeville, PA 19426.