Obituary for George E. Parker Jr.
George E. Parker, Jr., passed away peacefully at his home of seventy years surrounded by his loving family after a brief battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, on Wednesday, January 13, 2021. George found much comfort and peace knowing he was able to spend his final days at home, where he lived his whole life on the family farm. George was the second-generation owner and operator of Parker’s Orchard, one of the longest running orchards in town; Est. in 1947 Westborough, MA.
George was born in 1950 to the late George E. Parker, Sr. and Helen M. (Manning) Parker and was the eldest of the Parker children. He was educated in the Westborough Public School System and graduated from Westborough High School in 1969.
George enjoyed helping his father around the family orchard from a very young age and following high school, he worked briefly for the Westborough Public School System as a custodian. Not long after, he began operating a large pig farm in Upton for the Jarrett family and would also be seen around the local restaurants collecting food to feed the pigs that he cared for. In 1988, he purchased the family home and orchard and began running the business full time, as well as starting up his own landscaping business, Hillside Landscaping, which thrived for many years. In his older years, George’s passion was for his orchard and he continued to work tirelessly on it up until two weeks prior to his passing. George also loved spending time with his family and friends, he frequented many local diners and would enjoy talking with people around town.
George is survived by his niece, LeeAnn (Anderson) Desmarais, whom he thought of more like a daughter, and her husband, Louis Rob Desmarais, Jr of Shrewsbury; two great-nieces, Alyssa J. Desmarais of Westborough and Ashley T. Desmarais of Shrewsbury, whom he thought of more like granddaughters; his sister, Sharon A. (Parker) Gravlin, of Westborough; and his beloved big yellow Labrador, Rocky; as well as cousins and many, many friends and customers he met throughout the years.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in George’s name to the Glioblastoma Foundation at glioblastomafoundation.org or to the Worcester County Food Bank at foodbank.org
Family and friends will gather for calling hours on Wednesday January 20th, 2021 from 9:00am to 10:15am at the Britton Funeral Home, 648 Main St, Shrewsbury, followed by his funeral Mass, which will be celebrated at 11:00am at St Luke the Evangelist Church, 70 W Main St, Westborough. Burial will be held privately in St. Luke’s Cemetery, Westborough. Masks are required and social distance guidelines will be in place.
George was born in 1950 to the late George E. Parker, Sr. and Helen M. (Manning) Parker and was the eldest of the Parker children. He was educated in the Westborough Public School System and graduated from Westborough High School in 1969.
George enjoyed helping his father around the family orchard from a very young age and following high school, he worked briefly for the Westborough Public School System as a custodian. Not long after, he began operating a large pig farm in Upton for the Jarrett family and would also be seen around the local restaurants collecting food to feed the pigs that he cared for. In 1988, he purchased the family home and orchard and began running the business full time, as well as starting up his own landscaping business, Hillside Landscaping, which thrived for many years. In his older years, George’s passion was for his orchard and he continued to work tirelessly on it up until two weeks prior to his passing. George also loved spending time with his family and friends, he frequented many local diners and would enjoy talking with people around town.
George is survived by his niece, LeeAnn (Anderson) Desmarais, whom he thought of more like a daughter, and her husband, Louis Rob Desmarais, Jr of Shrewsbury; two great-nieces, Alyssa J. Desmarais of Westborough and Ashley T. Desmarais of Shrewsbury, whom he thought of more like granddaughters; his sister, Sharon A. (Parker) Gravlin, of Westborough; and his beloved big yellow Labrador, Rocky; as well as cousins and many, many friends and customers he met throughout the years.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in George’s name to the Glioblastoma Foundation at glioblastomafoundation.org or to the Worcester County Food Bank at foodbank.org
Family and friends will gather for calling hours on Wednesday January 20th, 2021 from 9:00am to 10:15am at the Britton Funeral Home, 648 Main St, Shrewsbury, followed by his funeral Mass, which will be celebrated at 11:00am at St Luke the Evangelist Church, 70 W Main St, Westborough. Burial will be held privately in St. Luke’s Cemetery, Westborough. Masks are required and social distance guidelines will be in place.