Wilber Parker

Grandson of Chief Quanah Parker
The Comanche Nation

Tularosa, New Mexico -- Funeral for Wilbur Parker, 89, Tularosa, New Mexico, will be at 11 a.m. today at Comanche Nation Funeral Home Chapel with Randy Behrmann officiating.
Mr. Parker died Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004, in an El Paso, Texas, medical center.
Burial will be at Cache KCA Intertribal Cemetery.

He was born April 3, 1915, near Cache to Baldwin and Mary Parker. He was one of the grandsons of Chief Quanah Parker, and he was a member and an elder of the Comanche Tribe. He spent his early years living and working on the Tomah Farm in Walters. He attended Fort Sill Indian School and Haskill Institute in Lawrence, Kan. After graduation, he was employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and served in several administrative positions. He retired in 1978 after 42 years of service. He was stationed in Oklahoma, on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, and the Jicarilla Apache and Mescalero Reservations in New Mexico. He was a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints in Alamogordo, N.M.

He served in the U.S.Army from April 14, 1944, to Aug.11, 1945. He was honorably discharged when he suffered a wound during the Battle of the Bulge in Ardennes Forest in Germany on Jan. 10, 1945. He also participated in other battles and campaigns in the European Theater. Decorations and citations include the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal, Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

Survivors include his wife, Esther Riddles Parker, of the home; four sons and three daughters-in-law: Bruce and D. Clo Parker, Albuquerque, N.M.; James and Rafaelita Parker, Mescalero, N.M.; Steven and Martha Parker, Monroe, La.; and Jeffery Parker, Tularosa; a brother, Baldwin Parker Jr., Cache; a sister, Joann Sands, Lawton; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two daughters: Gwendolyn Faye and Jeanine Ruth; two sisters: Ollie Parker and Jane Pearl Tahdooahnipah; and four brothers: Elmer, Roy, Simmons and Whitt Parker.

Lawton Constitution, November 21, 2004

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Feb 19 2021, 15:04:06 UTC
• Reference: U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) - SmartCopy: Mar 20 2021, 4:46:12 UTC
• Military service: Oct 16 1940 - Lawton, Comanche, Oklahoma, United States
• Military service: Apr 14 1944 - Ft Sill, Oklahoma, United States
• Residence: Lawton, Comanche, Oklahoma
• Residence: 1920 - Chandler, Comanche, Oklahoma, United States
• Residence: 1935 - Walters, Cotton, Oklahoma
• Residence: 1940 - Lawton Township, Comanche, Oklahoma, United States
  • Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Mar 20 2021, 4:47:45 UTC
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Mar 20 2021, 5:05:34 UTC