Roy A. Parker ’69

Roy died Jan. 18, 2016, following a stroke at his home in Yarm, England.

Born to an English mother and an American serviceman, Roy grew up in Liverpool and on U.S. Air Force bases. He graduated from Northern Burlington (N.J.) High School while living at McGuire Air Force Base. Roy attended Princeton on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and received his degree in electrical engineering. He married after sophomore year and left school for a year before returning to graduate with the Class of 1970. Later, he rejoined our ’69 class.

Roy had a successful career as an officer in the Air Force, including a stint commanding the unit responsible for presidential communications aboard Air Force One. Roy’s second career was in computing. He worked for IBM in Europe, then as a solo consultant.

Before there was Google, there was Roy. With his international background and wide-ranging intellect, Roy was a modest but encyclopedic font of knowledge about everything from culture to technology. He could fix, build, or do anything. Roy had a dry, understated wit and a warm, generous heart.

The class sends condolences to his beloved wife of 38 years, Pamela; sons Nick and Carl; Pam’s children, Caroline and Andrew; and four grandchildren.