Karl Franklin Parker, WWII Veteran

Sgt. Karl F. Parker, 112th Cavalry
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My Uncle Karl was warm and funny and great with kids. My sister and I always had a good time when he came to visit. He teased us and made us laugh, but he never talked down to us. He made us feel like real people, as if he had come as much to see us as our parents.

Karl was born September 8, 1917 in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, the third child of DeWitt Delwin Parker and his wife Hazel Helen Galloway. In 1920, this family of five lived on Howard Street in Algonac, Michigan, where DeWitt worked as a tailor in a tailor shop.

By 1930, in addition to his two older sisters, Karl had a younger sister as well, and the family had moved to 45 Washington Avenue in Mt. Clemens. There DeWitt worked as a typewriter salesman. Later they moved to Los Angeles, California.

In his 21st year, Karl applied for a Social Security number.
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Karl was 23 when he married my Aunt Bonnie, daughter of Rosmer and Evelyn Kerr, on June 23, 1941. He was a much-loved father to two children, one Bonnie's daughter from her first marriage, whom Karl adopted, and the other born in 1964. Even after their divorce in 1965, Karl remained devoted to Bonnie and the children.

Karl and daughter Judy

My grandparents couldn't have loved Karl more if he'd been their own son, and he felt the same way about them. My grandmother kept a letter she'd received from him during World War II. He must have felt very close to Evelyn to share these thoughts with her.

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[Context: A few months before Karl wrote this letter, my mother had turned 21. The day after her birthday, she left Detroit and went to join some friends in Los Angeles, where she took a job at Lockheed. Evelyn missed her and was hoping to make a trip out there to visit her.]

Karl died January 30, 1969, while hospitalized. A Christian Scientist, maybe he refused treatment that might have prolonged his life. He was only 51.

Forest Lawn - Lot 41, Section 33

He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, in a lot owned by my grandparents.* My grandfather would join him there just two weeks later. It was a terribly sad time for our family.

Karl is still loved and missed by everyone who knew him.

I can't help but smile when I think of him.

Uncle Karl & Me, Thanksgiving 1963

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*Note: I believe this lot was purchased in 1937, when Rosmer's mother, Kate Pettis Kerr, died. She is buried there also.