Robert G. Parker

Robert G. Parker, 93
     PORTLAND -- Robert G. Parker, known as Bob and affectionately called the Piano Man at his residence at Seventy-Five State Street, died there on July 5, 2007. He was 93.
     He was born on Dec. 11, 1913, in Sherman Mills, the son of the Rev. Frederic Parker and Anna Sleeper Parker. He inherited his musical ability from his mother, who died when he was four, and recalled entertaining his schoolmates with popular tunes of the day and helping his father at church with the music program.
     He graduated Valedictorian from high school in 1931 and, because of the Great Depression, had to delay for three years going to the University of Maine at Orono. He eventually financed tuition himself by playing in the Watie Atkins Band through college and for a year after graduation.
     While teaching in Fort Fairfield, he married the love of his life, Ruth Trickey, of Pittsfield. They met when he accompanied her singing on a radio program in college. He then taught at Vermont Academy, a Saxton's River boys' preparatory school. It was wartime, and he soon returned to Maine to work at the South Portland Shipyard as a welder, building Liberty Ships.
     After the war, he went to Columbia University to get his doctorate in optometry. He practiced optometry in Pittsfield for 34 years. During those years he and Ruth helped start the First Congregational Church and direct its music program. He served as organist and choir director for many years. He was a frequent accompanist and music coach for many town events, and he was the rehearsal accompanist for the town's summer productions of Gilbert & Sullivan musicals. He also played bass violin for many years in the Bangor and Colby Symphony Orchestras.
     After retirement, he and Ruth moved to Bradenton, Fla., where he was a church organist and volunteered for the Meals on Wheels program. During the summers they returned to their cottage on Lake Sebasticook in Newport.
     He was predeceased by Ruth on Nov. 22, 1995. He moved to Seventy-Five State Street in 1998 to be near his children when his health began to deteriorate. While living there, he served on the Board of Trustees in 2000 and 2001, and he instituted the popular Saturday night sing-alongs and played for many of the church services and social events at the facility.
     He is survived by a son, Michael W. Parker of Gorham; a daughter, Anna Maria Parker of South Freeport; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
     A musical celebration of his life will be held in the Adams Center at Seventy-Five State Street at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 8. A committal service will be held at the Pittsfield Cemetery at 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 26.
    In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to:
    The First Congregational Church
    20 Park St. P.O. Box 423
     Pittsfield, Maine 04967
    Robert G. Parker