Lipscomb mourns the loss of longtime English professor John Parker
Kim Chaudoin |
The Lipscomb community is mourning the loss of John Parker, a retiree of Lipscomb University and English professor for more than 30 years, who died Monday, April 29, at age 78.
Parker was a member of Lipscomb’s English department faculty from 1982 until his retirement in 2013. He taught courses on Shakespeare, British and American Literature as well as English composition and grammar.
During his tenure at the university, Parker also taught Bible courses, served as faculty in Lipscomb’s study abroad programs in Vienna and London, was editor of the faculty newsletter Angelion and served as advisor for the Backlog, the annual yearbook, and the student newspaper, the Babbler. He was known for his keen interest in Shakespeare and his love for hymns and the stories behind them, which became focuses of his research through the years. He received five summer grants and two sabbaticals, during which he conducted research on these topics in Cotswolds, England; attended Shakespeare Summer School at Cambridge University; traveled to sites of great British hymns; developed a Shakespeare workshop for high school teachers; and worked on a video about Shakespeare for high school students.
"Dr. Parker was one of my favorite professors. His Shakespeare class was so special and you could tell that he loved his subject. He also filled in for my American Lit professor where he shared his love of Mark Twain," shares former student Gena Henderson. "I still love the short story 'The War Prayer' after discussing it with him. I think of it often. He and Dr. Jill so generously shared their cabin with us for English retreats where we got to spend time in the country with their horses and dog, Chaucer. He was so very kind and special and I know the Lipscomb community will miss him."
Prior to his service at Lipscomb, Parker was on faculty at Freed-Hardeman University from 1969-82 where he taught English and Bible courses, served a chair of the Department of Languages and Literature and chaired the institutional self-study steering committee.
John Parker, and wife, Jill, at Lipscomb University President's Convocation in 2019.
As a writer and author, Parker had numerous articles published in the Gospel Advocate, for which he also wrote curriculum, among other journals and publications. Foremost among his writings were Bound and Loosed, Fundamentals of the Christian System (2003), which was translated into Russian, Greek, Bulgarian and Albanian; Abide with Me: A Photographic Journey through Great British Hymns (2010), co-authored with Paul Seawright; and The Gospel According to Shakespeare: 40 Inspiring Devotionals from the Bible and the Bard (2023), co-authored with F. LaGard Smith.
READ MORE: Parker offers unique perspective on great British hymns
In addition to his academic work, Parker preached in west and middle Tennessee, serving as an interim minister for Churches of Christ for over 20 years. He served as an elder for nearly two decades at Green Hills Church of Christ (formerly known as Granny White Church of Christ), directing and advising the missions program and visiting foreign churches and missionaries.
Parker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lipscomb in 1968, graduating summa cum laude and as the recipient of the Goodpasture Bible Award. He also served as co-editor of the Backlog. He also earned an Associate of Arts degree from Freed-Hardeman in 1966, a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (1969, 1978) and a Master of Arts in Religion from the Harding Graduate School of Religion in 1981.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jill (Roberson) Parker, who taught chemistry at Lipscomb for many years, along with their son, Dr. Robert Parker (Bria), and grandsons Ian and Joel Parker of Severn, Maryland; and by daughter, Sharon Parker Duncan (Greg), of Nashville.
Services were held Saturday, May 4, at the Church of Christ in Green Hills in Nashville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to: Lipscomb University, Emmett H. Roberson Permanent Endowment Fund; Freed-Hardeman University, Heritage Fund; the Church of Christ in Green Hills, missions; or Nashville Inner City Ministry.