The Honorable Quay Frederick Parker, Esquire was born on November 6, 1942 in Arkansas City, Kansas. Following a battle with Leukemia, he passed away on October 20, 2018 in Dallas at the age of 75. Services will be held on November 3, 2018, at 1:00 pm at the Heritage Church of Christ, 4201 Heritage Parkway, Fort Worth.
He excelled at cross country running and drama at Norman High School. Quay took great pride in the fact that he funded his university education selling books door to door, earning his BA degree at Abilene Christian College. He studied law at Texas Tech and earned his JD at Oklahoma City University. Quay began his legal career in 1973, serving in various positions as city, county and district attorney until 1981, when he opened a private practice to litigate civil and family law. In 1986 he became a judge of the 259th Judicial District Court. From 2003 until six weeks prior to his death, Quay held the position of Senior District Judge, presiding over a wide variety of cases including capital murder and acting as mediator and arbitrator.
Quay was an active member of the Church of Christ, volunteering in community events. He loved baseball, coaching and assisting his grandsons’ teams. He was passionate about country music and playing his collection of guitars. And he loved singing whenever and wherever he had the opportunity.
Quay is survived by his wife, Vicki; his brother, Quanah; his children Paige, Piper and Prairie; his stepchildren Jennifer, Elyse and Kevin; 12 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. He touched so many lives with his kindness and warm spirit. As an esteemed member of the Texas State judiciary, Quay has earned the honor to be interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, and he will be truly missed.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society (http://donate.lls.org/).
Tributes
Leave a tributeThe Honorable Quay Parker was my friend and colleague. We had many things in common: Quay was from Anson and I am from Abilene. My brother was a police officer in Anson. My sister hired Quanah Parker for her divorce many years ago. We know some of the same West Texas folks: lawyers, judges and guitar pickers. We share a love of Texas history, including a recent discussion of the Battle of Adobe Walls and the exploits of General Ranald McKenzie in the Texas Indian wars. But the thing that we shared most was our public service as judges.
After he retired from the bench, Judge Parker became what we call a “Senior Judge.” After he became a Senior Judge and moved to Collin County, I had the chance to observe Judge Parker in action as a judge. I was a newbie when we first met and I looked up to Judge Parker as a mentor and counted on him as a friend. Quay was fair minded, well versed in the law and he treated people with dignity and respect. Judge Parker was the type of judge that all new judges should try to emulate. To the extent that I have any of the characteristics of a good judge, I owe that to Quay Parker.
There are many things I will miss about Judge Parker: his laughter, the twinkle in his eye, his accent, his knowledge of the law, and the lunches with the guys. Quay was a guy’s guy. He could talk baseball, history, or the law and everyone loved him. And the women loved him, too. My bailiff and my court reporter, both women, were always greeted by Judge Parker with terms of endearment and hugs and they both loved it.
We wear the robes today to honor our friend- a great judge who would tackle any case. And some judges don’t want the tough cases. Judge Parker wanted the toughest cases of all. And because of his skills, he was often assigned to them. Judge Parker was particularly knowledgeable and adept in presiding over capital cases. When Judge Parker fell ill in recent weeks, he called me several times concerned about the capital cases he was assigned to. He wanted to make sure that nothing was missed while he was out sick. I told him not worry, I would assign myself to those cases and watch over them until he could return. I told the lawyers on his cases, I am stepping in for a while, but just until Judge Parker is back on his feet. The day before he left us, I visited with Judge Parker briefly and told him not worry everything was handled but to get back to work as soon as he could and he would be reassigned to his capital cases. I think he was excited and ready for that, but the next morning, the Highest Judge overruled both of us and gave Judge Parker his final assignment.
The Honorable Quay Parker has been called home. But where he is, there are no divorces to decide, no punishments to impose and no judgments to render. Judge Parker is there now, talking baseball, Texas history and picking his guitar.
On behalf of the judges and staff of the First Administrative Judicial Region of Texas, and the entire State of Texas Judicial Branch, I offer our sincere thanks for Judge Parker’s services to the State of Texas and to his family, we want you to know that the Honorable Judge Quay Parker will long be remembered and loved.
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Please be patient.
Please be patient.
Please be patient.
My memories of Judge Quay Parker
I met Judge Parker in 2008. He was a court appointed receiver on a property I had listed and I met him at the property to discuss our plan to get it sold. He pulled up in a red convertible Mercedes and got out wearing a cowboy hat. I knew we were going to get along just fine after that meeting. Through the years, we worked together to sell other properties and would call on each other for legal or real estate advice. Judge Parker was always kind, always approachable and he and Vicki became good friends to my family and me. We loved to get together to sing the old country classics and Vicki would look at him as if he were playing at the Grand Old Opry. She was his biggest fan! Judge Parker loved to laugh, he could make a mean Bloody Mary, and he had some great quotes I will never forget. He could remember details from trials he was involved with 30 years ago...names, dates, everything. His stories were always fascinating and I loved hearing them. I am thankful for the blessing of Quay's friendship. He was a wonderful man and I will never forget him.
Go rest high on that mountain, Judge Parker! Until we meet again!
I got to know Uncle Quay last year when he was in town to officiate my sister Amber's wedding. When we first met, I felt like I already knew him. I had heard so many good things about him -- his friendly manner, his funny stories with quirky Texas anachronisms, and best of all, the happiness he brought to my Aunt Vicki's life. He treated her so well, and I was proud to welcome him to the family and call him Uncle.
Uncle Quay showed remarkable generosity of spirit towards everyone, especially his family. Even though he had just been diagnosed with Leukemia the week before Amber's wedding, he put his troubles aside, and made the trek out to California to be the officiant, all the while as cheerful and good natured as ever. And what a trek it was!
There was a snafu with the paperwork, some sort of a clerical error, and it needed to be remedied before the wedding in order for him to be a temporary judge in the state of California. He could have officiated the ceremony as a justice of the peace, like the rest of us commoners, but of course Quay insisted he do it under his formal capacity as a judge. He worked hard for that title, after all! He had to zig-zag across town, driving around for hours and waiting in lines for hours more, just to file the paperwork again, but he did it all with a smile and love in his heart. Because that's what families do for one another.
I know he treated the extended family of his hometown Texas community with the same respect and honor as he treated ours. Uncle Quay was a people person, and everybody knew him. He was the star of any room he walked into, and he lit up the room when he spoke. Quay was also what you would call "a character". A truly unique person, the sort whose stories will be told and retold for generations to come.
The time I got to spend with Uncle Quay was all too short, but they were moments I will always cherish and never forget. He made me laugh, of course, but there was a depth to his words as well. I felt like I was speaking with an old soul, someone with wisdom to impart. I am so thankful to have known Uncle Quay, and my heart goes out Aunt Vicki, and all his loved ones. He was a fighter to the very end, and showed us all what it means to have inner strength. We will miss you Quay. The world just isn't the same without you.