2025 -- H 5038

========

LC000013

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

____________

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXTENDING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF THE HONORABLE

EDWARD CLARK PARKER, A HIGHLY RESPECTED JUDGE ON THE RHODE ISLAND

TRAFFIC TRIBUNAL FOR THREE DECADES

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Craven, Chippendale, O'Brien,
Dawson, J. Lombardi, Batista, Shanley, and McEntee

     Date Introduced: January 14, 2025

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with sadness that this House has learned of the passing of Judge

Edward Clark Parker, a widely admired member of the State Traffic Tribunal and a devoted

family man. He was the beloved husband of Martha Kenney Parker for 59 years, and the father

of Edward Parker II, and his wife, Bethany, Jocelyn Parker and her husband, Thomas, his

daughter-in-law, Jennifer, and the late John Parker. He was also the very proud grandfather of

Chelsea, Emily, Teddy, and Ryan; and

     WHEREAS, Affectionately known as “Eddie” by his family and many friends, Judge

Parker was the son of the late Edward and Catherine Clark Parker. He was a lifelong resident of

the City of Pawtucket, was a graduate of St. Raphael School, and earned his Bachelor’s degree

from Boston College, from which he remained a “devoted alum and avid Eagles fan” throughout

his life. He earned his Juris Doctor from New England School of Law, and for six years, had

honorably served our country in the Army Reserve; and

     WHEREAS, For many years, Judge Parker maintained a flourishing private law practice,

Keough, Parker & Gearon, and later served as the Deputy Attorney General of Rhode Island from

1987 to 1993; and

     WHEREAS, In 1993, the Honorable Edward Clark Parker was appointed to the bench,

where he served the people of Rhode Island on the State Traffic Tribunal for three decades, until

his retirement in 2022. In 2007, he served as the Tribunal’s interim chief, and over the course of

his long and distinguished career, had also been Vice-Chair of the Pawtucket Housing Authority,

and Executive Director of the State’s Fire Safety Code Board; and

     WHEREAS, In addition to his family and career, Judge Parker enjoyed “playing golf

with his friends in the A-train at Pawtucket Country Club” where he had been a member for 61

years, was a member of the Sons of the Irish Kings, and was an avid reader who was never at a

loss for telling a good story or two; and

     WHEREAS, Judge Parker possessed a “keen intellect”, “quick witted-humor” and a fair

and magnanimous spirit. He had the love of his family and friends and the admiration of his

peers, and he will be profoundly missed by those who had the good fortune to be a part of his

vital and fulfilling life; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

expresses our deepest sympathies on the passing of the Honorable Edward Clark Parker. He will

forever be remembered as a highly respected and admired judge who presided with fairness and

justice, and served the people of Rhode Island with integrity and excellence; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Martha Kenney Parker and Family.

========

LC000013

========

LC000013 - Page 2 of 2