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L.O. and
Mary Cotton Parker Ode Parker, son
of D.F.
Parker,
was born in September 1891 and was reared on a farm west of Albemarle. He attended
the county schools; the Albemarle graded schools and studied further at Lenoir
Rhyne College.
As a young man
LO. Parker came to Albemarle to open a shoe store. In September 1917 he married
Mary Cotton of Albemarle. In 1918 the Army called and Parker sold out his
interest in the shoe business. ‘When he returned from service he accepted a
position with Starnes, a jewelry store owned and operated by his sister, Letha
Parker Starnes, and his brother-in-law, Francis Eugene Starnes. Forty-four years
later Ode Parker retired from Starnes.
He was an
active member of Walter B. Hill Post 76 of the American Legion, a member of the
Stanly Rose Society and a member of Central United Methodist Church where he
served as a member of the board of stewards for 30 years. Mary Cotton Parker was
the daughter of John W. and Sarah Jane Shaver Cotton of Stanly County and had
one sister, Vida C. Kirk of Albemarle. She was active in church and community
affairs. She was a member of the Susannah Wesley Sunday School Class at Central
Methodist Church, a member of the Mamie Crowell Garden Club, the American Legion
Auxiliary and the Entrez Nous Bridge Club.
Ode and Mary
Parker moved to their home at 621 Pee Dee Ave. in 1936. The house is across the
street from the Old Albemarle Cemetery. Mary Cotton
Parker died in June 1965 and L.O. Parker died April 30, 1980. |