A COMMEMORATIVE RECOGNITION IN HONOR OF CARRIE CECELIA PARKER
Carrie Cecelia Thompson was born on April 28, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan, the seventh child of nine to the parents of Preston and Ida Mae Thompson Sr.. She attended Craft Elementary and Condon Middle School. Carrie was part of the sixteen-member Senior Supreme Club, sponsored by the YMCA at Western High School where she graduated in June of 1966.
One of her interests and passions throughout her life was in art, taking classes to create beautiful sketches and some of her drawings and designs are recognized on T-shirts made for family and friends.
She learned about God from her mother, Ida Mae, and accepted Christ at an early age. Her oldest sister Leola was also instrumental in her getting a deeper spiritual foundation in the Lord. She was baptized and this was the birthing of her ministry solidifying her Christian faith and her walk with the Lord. Not only did she take Catechism at Bethesda Church, but she taught there for over 10 years. Carrie was God-gifted with spiritual discernment and in wisdom.
On June 28th, 1969, Carrie married Henry C. Parker Jr. her childhood sweetheart, soul mate, and Viet-Nam veteran. They have two daughters, Erica, and Portia, and have been married for over 52 years. She has always been a woman of valor, grace, and beauty, and affectionately loved by all.
Carrie worked for General Motors Company for over 20 years. After her husband’s retirement from the City of Detroit, she retired shortly thereafter, with them relocating to San Tan Valley, AZ.
Carrie was a devoted wife and mother. She dedicated her life to sowing seeds of faith with family, friends, and strangers. She was a loyal member of New Beginning Ministries, a non-profit organization for distressed women, founded by her sister Leola and participated in an array of community service activities throughout her life. Rising early to talk to and hear from God, she was a prayer warrior and has led family and friends in early morning Bible devotions and evening prayer line vespers.
Carrie and her husband became a member of Way of Life Christian Church, receiving their Certificate of Ordination as Pastors on September 2, 2012. Both later attended and became a member of the Mountain View Church in Queen Creek, AZ where they were involved in many ministry outreach services.
In her spare time, she loved traveling on excursions with her husband, family and friends by air, land, and sea, even taking trips to places like Egypt and Paris, France.
Carrie suddenly departed this life to rest in the Lord on Friday, February 4, 2022. Those preceding her in death were her parents: Preston Thompson Sr. and Ida Mae Thompson, siblings/(in-laws): Leola Parker (Gillie), Preston Thompson Jr. (Barbara Jean), Barbara Jean Lindsay, and Jacqueline Smiley.
She leaves to cherish her loving memories: husband Pastor Henry C. Parker Jr., – a.k.a. “Bobo,” children: Erica Ashley (Michael) and Portia Parker-Jones (Thomas), her siblings/(in-laws): Nathaniel Thompson (Peggy), Emma Thompson, Shirley Moore, Pamela Cox (Michael), and (Willie Lindsay, husband of Barbara Jean Lindsay).
Carrie considered her in-laws as Brothers and Sisters, showing no partiality and to continue her memories are Sister in-laws: Teresa Coleman Graham (John), Dorothy Murdock (James), Stephanie Williams, and Brother in-law: Marvin Parker (Danielle), one granddaughter: Tahira Ashley, and grandson: JP “The Turtle” along with a host of nieces, nephews, family, and friends.