“Bill” Parker (1935 – 2014): Actor, Director, Playwright, Singer, Teacher/Professor, Colleague, caring Friend, and loving Brother, Uncle, and Long-Term Partner/Spouse, lived June 21, 1935 – June 20, 2014, and died peacefully at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, just one day short of his 79th birthday, surrounded by his loving family and Pastor, following a long battle with cancer.

Born in Anna, Illinois to Letta “Fay” and William Alonzo “Lon” Parker in the southern Illinois town of Anna—known then for its State Mental Hospital and its nearby silica mines, which serve as the backdrop for and helped inform the title of Bill’s 1st play, “From These Sterile Hills” (1974).

Bill graduated from the Anna-Jonesboro Unified School District in 1952, at the age of 16, and immediately went on to study at Southern Illinois University. He interrupted those studies when his family moved to St Louis (circa 1953) and spent the next few years acting at the YMHA, YMCA, Fontbonne College, on the stage of the Opera House in the adult lead in “Babes in Toyland,” in several productions by the Southtown Players at the old Richmond Theatre (at Clayton and Big Bend)—where he also directed a number of notable productions–and in the lead male role in an acclaimed production of “The Caine Mutiny” in the Upper Courtroom of the Old Courthouse.

St. Louis residents may also remember him as a popular tenor, who sang in night clubs at Gas Light Square, notably Marty’s, The Black Horse Inn, and the Crystal Palace.

Bill then left St. Louis for Memphis, where he earned a B.S. from Memphis State University (1966). He next went on to Carbondale, where he was awarded a M.S. in Theatre and Communication from Southern Illinois University (1968), while returning periodically to St. Louis to direct or sing and visit friends. He then completed all his coursework for a Ph.D. at SIU, where he formed many enduring friendships, and in 1969 accepted a teaching position at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). He took a leave of absence and again returned to Carbondale, this time to complete his doctoral thesis and was awarded his Ph.D. degree from Southern Illinois University in Theatre and Speech (1975)

Bill continued to teach, act, and direct (often 2 or 3 plays per year) at Pacific Lutheran University, where he was awarded the rank of Full Professor in 1987, and worked until his retirement in 2000.

While there he wrote 2 additional plays, which have also been produced elsewhere: “The Apprentice” (1989) which delves into the sources of Henrik Ibsen’s strongly independent women, and “Just As We Are” (1989), which portrays the problems faced when a white, upper middle-class family confronts the specter of HIV/AIDS.,

Bill always had a warm smile, a very perceptive and caring nature, a belief in hard work, responsibility and the importance of family, and a special knack for spotting and nurturing unrecognized talent and the playwright’s intent—all of which made him a pleasure to know and work with and his productions and acting roles energetic and insightful. He also directed opera, including complete English language productions of “Die Fledermaus”, and “Christopher Columbus,” for Seattle Opera outreach program. His most notable roles were as Grandpa in “You Can’t Take It With You” (1979, University of South Carolina, and South Carolina Public Televison), Nicely-Nicely Johnson in “Guys a & Dolls” (1986, California Polytechnic Institute) and at PLU as John Adams in “1776” and Candide/Pangloss in “Candide,” He was proudest, however, of his students’ success and his award from the Northwest Drama Conference in 1999 for “30 years of Teaching, promoting, and Sustaining the Theatre Arts in Higher Education.”

Bill and his partner relocated to St. Louis in 2008. He is preceded in death by his parents and an older brother, Robert. He is survived by his spouse/partner-of-27-years (Edward C. Gentzler III, of Kirkwood), 2 loving sisters (Gayle Brown, of Chesterfield, and Marilyn Russo, of Olivette) as well as 11 loving nieces and nephews, 14 great nieces and nephews.

A memorial Service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, July 5, at First Congregational Church of St Louis—United Church of Christ (due to construction, enter Wydown at Big Bend and not Skinker). In lieu of flowers, donations are requested in Bill’s honor to either: The Siteman Cancer Center, the Department of (Musical) Theatre at Southern Illinois University or Pacific Lutheran University, or to the “Truancy Fund” at First Congregational Church of St Louis—United Church of Christ.