John F. Parker

      For other people of the same name, see John Parker (disambiguation).
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      John Francis Parker[1]
      Mayor of
      Taunton, Massachusetts[2]
      In office
      1947[2] – 1954[2]
      Succeeded by Joseph C. Chamberlain
      Member of the
      Massachusetts Senate[2]
      1st Bristol District[1]
      In office
      1953[3] – 1989[2]
      Preceded by Francis J. O'Neill
      Succeeded by Thomas C. Norton
      Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party
      In office
      1965–1967
      Preceded by Frederic C. Dumaine, Jr.
      Succeeded by Josiah Spaulding
      Minority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate
      In office
      1967–1989
      Preceded by Philip A. Graham
      Succeeded by David H. Locke
      Personal details
      Born May 29, 1907[1]
      Dorchester, Massachusetts[3]
      Died December 1992[2]
      Nationality American
      Political party RNC
      Profession Newspaper compositor[1]

      John Francis Parker (May 29, 1907-December 1992) was the last of a long line of part-time mayors of Taunton, Massachusetts. By his efforts the City Council decided to make the position full-time. Parker was elected to the State Senate in 1953, and served for many years as the Minority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate, the post he held when he retired from public life in 1989. He was also a member of the Taunton School Committee.[2]

      Parker desired to succeed Congressman Joseph William Martin, Jr. (R-MA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, however Parker refused to oppose the elderly former Speaker in the Republican primary of 1968. Martin was defeated in the primary by Governor’s Councilor Margaret Heckler (R-MA) effectively ending Parker's efforts of attaining higher office.

      A middle school within the city is named in honor of his service to the city, and a section of U.S. Route 44 is named in honor of Parker and his wife, Mae, who had no children. The Taunton Municipal Golf Course was changed to the John F. Parker Municipal Golf Course.

      Notes

      1. ^ a b c d Hayden, Irving N.. (1955), 1955-1956 Public officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, MA: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, p. 71. 
      2. ^ a b c d e f g JOHN F. PARKER, GOP STATE SENATOR FROM TAUNTON FOR 36 YEARS; AT 85, Boston, MA: The Boston Globe, December 22, 1992  Text "The Boston Globe" ignored (help)
      3. ^ a b O'Neill, Edward B. (1955), 1985-1986 Public officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, MA: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, p. 75. 
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      Last modified on 24 February 2013, at 02:17