Veronica Ann Prichard Parke

07/30/1939 - 05/17/2025

Veronica Ann Prichard Parke, dedicated social worker and determined community organizer, died on May 17, 2025, in Washington, DC, while in hospice care at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, Jefferson Parke and Arsiné Kailian.
Veronica was born on a farm in Caerphilly, Wales, on July 30, 1939. She was raised as a sheep and dairy farmer near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. By her early 20s, she ventured out to study under the guidance and support of L. Hugh Doncaster at Woodbrooke Quaker college in the UK, and then to America, to farm with Quakers in Indiana and Native Americans in the Dakotas. In the mid-1960s, Veronica ran the Friends Hall on Barnet Grove in Bethnal Green, London, a Quaker community center, attracting the help of concert pianist Hephzibah Menuhin and sociologist Richard Hauser. In 1966, Veronica met and fell for Physics PhD candidate and future husband William "Bill" Parke of Bethesda, MD, and moved to Washington, DC.
She spent the next 15 years working with Quaker student groups, organizing for civil rights, and promoting liberation movements. From the late 1960s through the 1970s, Veronica assisted in running the Quaker International Student House on R Street in DC. She managed Davis House, an international guest house for visiting Quakers and helped establish a Quaker preschool in Dupont Circle, School for Friends. Veronica worked on the May 1968 Airlie House Conference to lobby Congress for Martin Luther King Jr.'s idea for a Poor People's Embassy. She invited Richard Hauser from London to speak to the leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Veronica went on to help Resurrection City, a tent community on the National Mall in 1968. By the late 1970s, Veronica and Bill opened their home to Arnold Kohen, Father "Chico" Fernandes, and East Timorese delegations resisting Indonesian occupation.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, while raising her and Bill's two sons, Justin and Jefferson, Veronica frequently volunteered at Martha's Table, a soup kitchen and children's center for low-income and homeless families in DC. She was hired as the volunteer coordinator before becoming Vice President, then President from 1987 to 2004. While President, Veronica worked to establish community partnerships, expand the reach of Martha's Table, and help many more children and people in need. She would often work five days a week, and then volunteer for two more—getting in early to greet the first staff and community members seeking help, minding the buildout of more space for services, running out to get donated food, and then helping close operations at the end of the day. For her work at Martha's Table and her contributions to the community, Veronica was selected as a 2002 Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine.
In 2005, Veronica retired from Martha's Table as President Emeritus and spent her time advising social and political advocates as well as caring for her six grandchildren.
Veronica is survived by her husband, William Parke; sons, Justin and Jefferson Parke; daughters-in-law, Arsiné (Si) Kailian, Lena Moffitt, and Marie-Laure Guitteny Parke; grandchildren, Ansel, Estée, Eojeni, Yerado, Charlie, and William (Willie) Parke; brother and sister-in-law, Alan and Mary Prichard; niece and nephew, Nina and William Prichard; and cousins in Wales.
Veronica recognized volunteering and helping others as a core part of her Welsh and Quaker heritage. She dedicated herself to supporting her many communities, shouldering a tremendous weight through everyday commitments. Veronica reflected, "I have shared in people's great suffering and there is also great joy."
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Martha's Table or any cause that reflects Veronica's spirit. A gathering in her memory will be announced at a later date.