Parker D. Thomson ’53

When Parker died Nov. 3, 2017, the Miami Herald headline read, “Parker Thomson, defender of the First Amendment, dies at 85.” Parker and his law partner, Dan Paul, represented the Miami Herald, The New York Times, AT&T, and Bank of America and argued three cases before the Supreme Court. They obtained a ruling that a Florida law requiring newspapers to give equal time on their editorial pages to political candidates was unconstitutional.

Parker did pro bono work for such groups as the League of Women Voters, the Audubon Center, and the Miccosukee tribe. He spearheaded a drive to create the $300 million Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, which opened in 2006 and has grown into one of the country’s leading community-driven performing-arts centers.

Parker also worked with his daughter, Meg Daly, to transform the land below Miami’s Metrorail into a 10-mile neighborhood park, urban trail, and arts space. Disgusted with Miami’s polarizing politics, Parker brought the Republican and Democratic party chairmen together to formulate a statement of fair-campaign practices.

Parker was born in Troy, N.Y., and came to Princeton from the Albany Academy. He joined Key and Seal, majored in the Woodrow Wilson School, and wrote his senior thesis on “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Schuman Plan.”

He is survived by his wife, Vann; their four children; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.