Nan Parker

Mrs. Nan Johnson Parker, age 84 of NC Hwy 109, Denton, NC died Tuesday, June 27,2023 at Hinkle Hospice House in Lexington.

A private family graveside service will be held Thursday, July 6 at Fairview United Methodist Church Cemetery.

Mrs. Parker’s body will be taken to the residence on Saturday, July 1st where she will remain until the graveside service conducted by Rev. Sandy Young and Rev. Doug Rowe.

Mrs. Parker was born January 14, 1939 in Davidson County to W. Commodore Johnson and Ellen Snyder Johnson. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Denton.   At Denton High school, she participated in band, basketball, softball, served as class officer three years, Beta Club and composed the Senior class poem.  She was voted Most Dependable and Best All Around by her fellow classmates.

In 1957, she was crowned Miss Denton and uniquely kept the title for two years.  1958 was Denton’s 50 year Golden Jubilee Celebration so there was no pageant held so the town asked her to keep her title for 1958 as well. She graduated from Denton High School in 1957 and began her Freshman year at Wake Forest University. In the 1950s it was extremely difficult for women to be accepted at Wake Forest and they accepted only the best and brightest women and Nan fit into that category extremely well. After completing two years at Wake Forest, she transferred to UNC Chapel Hill where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1961 and later completed her Masters of Education in 1968, concentrating in school counseling, from UNC Chapel Hill as well.

After obtaining her undergraduate degree, Nan spent the next several years as a proud "Air Force wife" in Enid, Oklahoma and Fairborn, Ohio. Subsequently, Nan and the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she taught at Suder Elementary school and then taught 4th grade at Woodward Academy, a preparatory and boarding school.  She particularly enjoyed instructing her students in math and science during her tenure there. While in Georgia, she volunteered at her children’s school and many community projects while concentrating on her young family and education career. In 1973, she and her husband decided to return to Denton, NC to build their home and support their parents. Shortly after Nan returned, she became involved with a special education grant which coordinated the program “Learning to Read through Poetry and Drama.” She then moved into various guidance counselor positions for Davidson County schools K-8, including Denton. She loved working with students, parents and teachers to provide a psychologically healthy learning environment. She then transitioned to Davidson County Board of Education Central Office as the Director of Elementary Guidance and worked within the Teen Parent Program.

She was a true professional with a compassionate and caring spirit that will endure in all the lives she impacted both professionally and personally. Nan combined these traits with her keen intellect and was able to bring success to students, families and programs with which she worked throughout Davidson County.

Nan was pivotal in the development of the DCCC Teen Parent Program and Head Start Services.  In this role, Nan was widely regarded as making a great impact in the lives of teen mothers and their children. In addition, she worked on the Early Foundation of Pre-School programs with Davidson County Schools.

Nan also had the opportunity to serve on the first board of directors of Mountain Vista Health Park and worked alongside Rev. Herbert Baker to bring the facility to the community.

Mrs. Parker is survived by her husband, David Anthony (Tony) Parker, Sr. of the home; sons, David Anthony Parker, Jr. and wife Jill of Raleigh, John Harris Parker and wife Leigh Anne of Denton and Daniel Aaron Parker and wife April of Pilot; a daughter, Jean “Suzanne” Parker Bulakowski and husband Neill of Greensboro; grandchildren, Katelyn, Mary Grayson, David III, Olivia, Sam, Rachel, Sarah, Hannah and Daniel, Jr., Beau and Dean; a great grandchild, Betty Jane.

Memorials may be made to Davidson County Education Foundation, PO Box 444, Lexington NC 27293, Davidson-Davie Community College, PO Box 1287, Lexington NC 27293 or South Davidson Resource Center, PO Box 1197, Denton NC 27239.

Briggs Funeral Home is serving the Parker family.

Online condolences can be made to the family at www.briggsfuneralhome.com