Charles Edward Parker, 90, passed away on July 15^th, 2026, in Marshfield, Missouri. He was born on January 13, 1936, in Meta Missouri to Henry Monroe Parker and Rita Veasman Parker. He was the 2^nd of three sons.

Charles (Bill) spent his early years in Meta, Missouri, and later moved to Dixon Missouri where he graduated from Dixon High School in 1954.

That’s where he met his future bride, Grace Gan.  They married on March 17^th, 1958, in St. Louis, Missouri and were married 66 years before her passing in 2024.

Together they had three children: Charles (Chip) Edward Jr., Gary Dale, and Susan Lorene.

Bill attended Hannibal LaGrange Junior College and Drury College on basketball scholarships and graduated from Drury College in 1958.

He coached basketball at Crocker High School and later coached at Waynesville Jr. High.  He went on to become principal at Waynesville Jr. High. Spending the majority of his career as High School principal at Crocker High School.

Bill was always into sports. If he wasn’t playing basketball or men’s fast pitch softball, you could catch him sitting on the back porch listening to the Cardinals games on the radio. He was always very competitive, whether it was sports, or games such as ping pong, croquet, Yahtzee, etc. He was an avid reader and enjoyed Louis L’Amour westerns.

Bill and Grace enjoyed their retirement, traveling all over the country. They especially enjoyed spending time with their children and grandchildren. They would just light up when the grandkids came to visit them, when they had to leave, Bill and Grace would stand in the front yard and wave and blow kisses, and grandkids would yell from the car, “throw grass”, and they would throw grass at the car, and continue to wave and blow kisses until the grandkids were out of sight.

Bill grew up in a Christian home, and his faith was always a top priority throughout his life. He was an active member of Crocker Christian Church and later Northside Christian Church in Springfield, where he taught adult Sunday School classes and studied hard to present the Bible accurately. He served as a deacon and later an elder at Northside Christian Church. Bill often mentioned how proud he was that all of his kids and grandkids had accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He left a great legacy!

Bill is survived by his daughter, Susan Wheeler (Rick); and daughter-in-law, Sandy Parker; six grandchildren: Patrick Wheeler, Amanda Parker, Kasey (Wheeler) Congdon, Ryan Parker, Chloe (Wheeler) Helmer, and Emily Parker. Ten great-grandchildren: Avia, Lyla, Wesley, Evan, Emmi, Dale, Sadie, Elli, Eden and Laini.

Bill is preceded in death by his wife, Grace; sons, Chip and Gary Parker, one grandson, Troy Parker, his parents, and his brothers, John and Maurice Parker.

He was very respected and loved by his family and friends.

There will be a service for Bill at Greenlawn Funeral Home East at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 18, 2026, with burial following at Dixon Cemetery in Dixon, Missouri.