Charles Eldon Parker (Charley) Obituary (1926

Charles Eldon Parker (Charley), of Crossville, TN, passed away on October 24, 2020 at Hospice of Cumberland County. He was 94 years old. Charley was born in Waverly, TN on May 9, 1926 - the third of four brothers - to Charlie Murray Parker and Nora Hall Parker. His brothers are Ernest, Lawrence Ellis, and Murray Eugene Parker. A graduate of Waverly High School in 1944, Charley served in the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II as an aircraft mechanic. He married Katherine Lucille Miller from Waverly in 1947. They moved to Michigan in the late 1940s. Charley spent more than 40 years as a railroad engineer with CSX systems and retired as the highest seniority engineer in the entire Great Lakes Region of that company. He was an active member in the Masonic Blue Lodge and a member of the Shriners. On April 2, 2018 Charley received his 60-year Masonic membership pin from Crossville Lodge #483. In 1986, Charley and Kitty relocated from Michigan to Clyde, North Carolina where they resided until Kitty passed away in February of 1993. On October 2, 1994 Charley married Geri Phipps and relocated to Crossville, TN. During their marriage, he was involved in the Masonic Lodge and Shrine Club, and Geri remains active in the Eastern Star. Charley is survived by his wife, Geri, of Crossville, TN; his two sons and their wives - Charles and Denise, and Phillip and Shannon Parker, all of Sweetwater, TN; his youngest brother, Murray Eugene Parker of Smyrna, TN; and his step children, Sue Tropae and husband, Tony, Ron Merritt and wife, Linda, and Alan Merritt and wife, Karen, and their children and grandchildren. He was preceded in passing by his wife, Katherine Parker; his eldest brother, Ernest Parker; and his second oldest brother, Lawrence Ellis Parker. Family will receive friends on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at Crossville Memorial Funeral Home from 11 - 1. Funeral services will also be held on Wednesday following visitation with Ron Dyer officiating. He will be laid to rest in Richlawn Cemetery in Waverly, TN. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Tolletts Chapel Methodist Church.