John H. Parke ’38

John died March 15, 2017, in Springfield, Mass., due to complications from dementia. John was born Oct. 2, 1916, to the Rev. Hervey and Ethel Parke in the Emily Dickinson home in Amherst, Mass., which his family owned for 50 years.

He graduated magna cum laude from the Kent School. At Princeton he graduated with election to Phi Beta Kappa.

After completing three years at the Episcopal General Theological Seminary in New York City, he was ordained to the ministry at Grace Church, Amherst, in 1942. That same year John married Joan Lee Cole from Dublin, Ireland. In 1944 he joined the Army’s 65th Infantry Division as chaplain, serving in the European sector during World War II.

Upon returning home he served in parishes in Massachusetts; Newport Beach, Calif.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Falls Church, Va. For close to a decade he served as director of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician, leading healing missions throughout America and Australia.

Following the death of his first wife, he married Eleanor Anderson in 1982. In retirement they traveled the world. When home, John served as a canon at Christ Church Cathedral and held healing prayers for needy parishioners. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, two sons, a daughter, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The Class of 1938 extends its condolences to John’s family.