Mildred Mickey Parker

Mildred “Mickey” Katherine Gooch Parker of Chesapeake, Virginia and Scottsdale, Arizona passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, May 25, 2024, shortly after her 87th birthday. She was born in Fluvanna County, Troy, Virginia as the third child of Harry Gordon Gooch Sr. and Bessie Blythe Britts. The early years of her life were happily spent on the family farm and in a house lacking running water and electricity. Despite the humble beginnings Mickey became a highly respected nursing educator who always stayed grounded in her roots. Mickey was a wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother. She gave everyone her undivided attention and love which earned her more “best friends” than anyone can count. Her primary profession was nursing, and she attended Madison College (now James Madison University), earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Virginia in 1959, a certificate in counseling from Old Dominion University, and a Master of Science degree (MS) in Psychiatric Community Mental Health Nursing from Hampton University. She cared for patients at Martha Jefferson Hospital, Duke University, Albemarle Hospital, and Retreat for the Sick Hospital in Richmond. Mickey showed great compassion for those suffering from mental and emotional trauma/illness and worked as a professional psychotherapist at the Portsmouth Psychiatric Center and the Family Services of Tidewater. Although psychiatric nursing was her profession, Mickey’s passion was education, and she taught several generations of nurses through her teaching affiliations with Old Dominion University, College of the Albemarle, Norfolk State University, Thomas Nelson Community College, Louise Obici Hospital, and Tidewater Community College. Mickey was also a consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics for more than 40 years. During that time, she recruited many women into this wonderful company ultimately changing and enhancing their lives. Mickey loved people and had the ability to make everyone feel valued and important. She had a thirst for knowledge and enjoyed reading, cooking, playing the piano, sewing, traveling, swimming, and completing crossword puzzles. Considering the many jobs and hobbies that Mickey had throughout her life, her very favorite activity was spending time with her two grandsons Parker and Gordon as well as her “grand-dog” Benjamin. Mickey was proud of her age but never really showed it and this made her somewhat ageless. This contributed to her energy and positive outlook on life. Faith in God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was always central to Mickey Parker’s life. This led her to briefly study at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It was there that she met her husband Bill (Paul William Parker Jr.). Mickey and Bill were married December 2, 1961, and enjoyed nearly 60 years of marriage and friendship until Bill’s death in August 2021. They raised two wonderful children Angela and Paul (the 3rd) and enjoyed a life filled with family, friends, music, travel, and church life. Mickey was preceded in death by her parents Gordon & Bessie Gooch, her sister Margaret Turner Schoolcraft (and husband Benjamin Turner of Charlottesville, Virginia), her husband Paul William “Bill” Parker Jr., and her brother Harry “Pete” Gordon Gooch Jr. (and wife Ann Layman Gooch of Keswick, Virginia). Left behind to mourn and navigate life without Mickey is her son Paul William Parker III, her daughter (and best friend) Angela Blythe Parker Buch and husband Dr. Robert Jefferson Buch, grandsons Parker Jefferson Buch and Gordon William Buch, a special niece Anita Gooch Schrunk, her “bonus son” Dave Culver, and multiple cousins, nieces, nephews, as well as many dear friends. Family, friends, and others are invited to attend a celebration of life for Mickey and Bill Parker at Churchland Baptist Church at 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 28, 2024 to reminisce and honor their full and vibrant lives. The family suggest memorial contributions to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in memory of Mickey and Bill. Rev. Paul William “Bill” Parker Jr. Paul William “Bill” Parker Jr. of Chesapeake, Virginia and Scottsdale, Arizona, aged 88, passed away peacefully on August 21, 2021, at Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix, Arizona. He was born in Portsmouth Virginia as the only child to Paul W. Parker Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Bradshaw. He was a proud Virginia gentleman, growing up and living most of his life in the tidewater area. Bill was a husband, father, uncle, grandfather, and a friend to nearly everyone he met. His primary vocation was as a minister of the word of God but his interests and life experiences were many and diverse. Against the wishes of his mother, he joined the 101st Airborne division of the US Army and served as a radio repair man in the signal corp. Honorably discharged in 1956 he resumed his formal education at The College of William & Mary. Bill’s love for Colonial Williamsburg and his alma mater were obvious to anyone visiting his home in Chesapeake. Following graduation, he heeded our Lord’s calling and attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is there that he met his wife Mildred “Mickey” Katherine Gooch. Seminary also combined his love for God and pipe organs and he became a master of this sacred instrument. Reverend Parker graduated from seminary in 1962 and served in many positions in multiple churches throughout his career in the ministry. One of his favorite positions was the Minister of Education at Churchland Baptist Church. There he spent a great deal of time with the children and youth of the church, ensuring them a good Christian foundation for their lives. Bill was also the director of the Baptist retirement home Emily Green Shores and an associate minister at Court Street Baptist Church in Portsmouth. Fascinated with history and aviation, he began building model airplanes from scratch as a young child and simulated cockpits of American fighter jets. Bill loved all of God’s creatures and enjoyed nature and animals of every kind. He also enjoyed photography, drawing, sketching, and painting. However, his passion was music, including organ building. He sang in a quartet as a young man and played many instruments but his favorite was playing the piano. As a young man, he worked several part time jobs assisting in organ building and restoration. Mickey was supportive in overlooking the many organ pipes, organ parts, and multiple types and sizes of pipe organs that occupied special places in their Chesapeake home. He even built organ parts and wires running beneath his house. Bill’s pride and joy was the Wurlitzer theatre organ which he spent decades rebuilding and loved showing it off. This organ was the centerpiece of the many music/organ concerts that Bill and Mickey hosted in their home. Later in life, Bill began traveling internationally with his daughter Angela and her husband Rob. During these trips, Bill stopped at nearly every cathedral and insisted on meeting the organist to obtain as much information as possible and sometimes getting a private tour of the inner workings of these beautiful instruments. Bill Parker had an insatiable thirst for learning. He was an avid reader and over his lifetime acquired thousands of books on architecture, religion, history, geology, music, pipe organs, and animals of every kind. He was a kind and gentle soul who would rescue and rehabilitate any stray or injured animal that crossed his path. He had a quick wit and a good sense of humor, enjoying and collecting old comic strips from newspapers. Bill was an avid woodworker, turning his garage into a well-equipped, personal woodshop. When he wasn’t working on the organ or reading or playing the piano, he could be found most evenings in his woodshop garage crafting something new. Bill Parker never met a stranger and was kind to everyone he encountered. Most of all Bill cherished his wife of nearly 60 years Mickey, son Paul, and daughter Angela. He enjoyed spending as much time as possible with them and accepted their friends with open arms and a loving heart. He ensured that Angela’s husband Rob was fully integrated into the Parker family and guided him through decades of life and mentored him as a second son. Bill Parker has been and will always be missed by those he left behind on earth. Bill’s death occurred during the global pandemic, August 21, 2021 and as a result we were not able to celebrate his life publically at that time. However, at the end of his life Bill was fortunate to have been surrounded by his supportive and loving family. He was predeceased by his parents whom he missed every day. His wife Mickey mourned the loss of her best friend and husband until she departed this world in May, 2024. Now Bill and Mickey are reunited in heaven. They are mourned every day by his remaining family, son Paul William Parker III, daughter Angela Blythe Parker Buch and husband Dr. Robert Jefferson Buch, and grandsons Parker Jefferson Buch and Gordon William Buch, as well as extended family and many dear friends. Family, friends, and others are invited to attend a celebration of life for Mickey and Bill Parker at Churchland Baptist Church at 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 28, 2024 to reminisce and honor their full and vibrant lives.