Mary A Parker

Mary Alice Gaither-Parker , fondly known as “Betsy” was born in Mt. Airy, Howard County Maryland on January 16, 1924. She was the daughter of the late Mazie Dutton Kane and James Miller Gaither. She was called home by God on April 21, 2018.

Mary received her education in the Baltimore City Public Schools. She attended Dunbar High School up to the tenth-grade and completed her GED at Polytechnic Institute.

Mary met and married her sweetheart, George J. Parker in 1945. From this union seven children were born. Mary was a diligent homemaker, caring for her family and maintaining their lifestyle. She was the glue that held the family together.

After her kids became older she was able to secure a job at the old Bugle Laundry on Chester Street. After Bugle Laundry, she worked as a custodian in the Baltimore City Public School System. She then went on to volunteer at Harford Heights Elementary where she assisted teachers and helped monitor the students. Later she became a caregiver for the Volker Estate. Always fond of children, she ended her career as a school bus monitor, riding alongside her brother, “Bootsy” the bus driver.

Mary loved St. Francis Xavier Church, where she was a member of the Ladies Sodality. She enjoyed going to church and did so up until the time she became ill. As a church member she would wash and iron the church linens for the altar by hand, something she was proud to do. Sodality bake sales were special to her. She would bake her sweet potato pies that would sell out as soon as they hit the table. Mary was also a member of “The Red Hat Society”.

Mary leaves to cherish her memories her seven children, three sons, George Jr., Gerald and Charles; four daughters, Theresa Boseman, Ina Parker, Regina Owens and Mary Parker; one sister, Dorothy Bennett and three brothers, Harold, Robert and Patrick Kane; five siblings preceded her in death, Catherine Faulkner, Marian, Irving, Thomas, and Allen Kane; two sons-in-law, Kevin Owens and Caesar Goodson; daughters-in-law, Sharon Parker and Susan Parker; ten grandchildren, Denise, Erica, Lisa, Yolanda, William, Aaron, Kareem, Tia and Nicole; one grandson, Ivan Johnson preceded her in death; fifteen great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and numerous friends. 

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