The Parkers

Gerald T. and Inez Grant Parker shared a lifetime of devotion to the betterment of their community.

Gerald T. Parker was born on June 24, 1883. Raised in a small Illinois town, he attended the University of Chicago, where he studied under the great physicist and Nobel Prize winner, A. H. Michelson. Rather than pursue a career in science, Mr. Parker entered the field of finance, joining the Commerce Trust Co. in Kansas City, Missouri. He became vice president and head of the bond department.

Inez Grant Parker was born in Oswego, Kansas, June 26, 1887. The daughter of a prominent horse and mule dealer, she became a proficient horsewoman and an accomplished driver of spirited teams. She also founded the Friends of the Nelson Art Museum in Kansas City.

Moving to San Diego, the Parkers demonstrated the same commitment to community. They supported such organizations as the Boy Scouts, San Diego Museum of Art and Northwest Family YMCA. After Mr. Parker’s death, gifts from Mrs. Parker established the Parker Foundation in 1971. On her death in 1972, the balance of her estate was transferred to the Foundation to institutionalize their devotion to the community in perpetuity.