If you had a cause in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and you wanted help, you would call on Helen Carrie Parker. If she liked the cause, she would be your hardest worker.
Mrs. Parker died on Feb. 23, 2005 at the age of 85.
She was the biggest supporter of the Orion Township Library and was on the library board for 20 years serving as secretary, vice president and president. She was also a charter member and past president of the library’s Friends of the Library.
‘There wasn’t a person that was more pro library?, Orion Township Library’s Director Linda Sickles said. ‘She was instrumental in helping get this library built.
‘She made sure her children and her grandchildren came to the library. Education was important to her.?
Sickles described Mrs. Parker driving up and down the local streets encouraging people to vote yes on building a new library.
‘She was a very intelligent and resourceful woman, a power to be reckoned with,? Sickles said. ‘She tried to do her best for the community.?
LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel was a good friend and fellow Republican.
‘She cared deeply about this country and was committed to the Republican way of life,? Van Tassel said. ‘She was extremely active and vocal.?
According to Van Tassel, Mrs. Parker was a prolific letter writer and often sent off letters to the president or the state governor at the time.
Van Tassel believes that Mrs. Parker was instrumental in toppling the Democrats? hold on Orion Township in the 70s.
‘She played a vital part in getting the Republicans elected,? Van Tassel, who was a township trustee at the time, added. ‘She recruited Bob Sheardy (in 1978) and they went door to door.?
Van Tassel said Mrs. Parker was also using her vehicle during the campaign. ‘I remember she had a SUV-type vehicle and would play tapes over a speaker, play ‘Stars and Strips Forever.
‘This was the turn around for the Republican party. The music got us better recruitment,? she added.
Mrs. Parker was a history buff and founded the still active North Oakland Genealogical Society. She spent years researching her own past and learned she was the great, great, great granddaughter of Joseph Loomis who came from England in 1638.
Mrs. Parker was also a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Lake Orion and the Michigan Library Association.
She was preceded in death by her husband Martin.
She is survived by her children, Mary Jo Ruebelman, David (Christine) Parker and Debra Parker; her five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
The funeral was Feb. 28 at the Modetz Funeral Home in Lake Orion. Burial was in Davisburg Cemetery.
Memorials may be directed to the Orion Township Public Library, 825 Joslyn Road, Lake Orion, MI, 48362 or the Parkinson Foundation, 30161 Southfield, MI 48076.
Online guestbook: www.modetzfuneralhomes.com.