Avis de décès de Mary-Christine-Langston Parker - Nécrologie - MesAieux.com

MARY CHRISTINE LANGSTON PARKER, 89 LAKELAND - Mary Christine Langston "Teeny" was born on November 14, 1924 in Inverness, Florida, to Jarda Amelia Johnson Langston and Bernard Gainer Langston. She married Charles Ward Parker on June 13, 1953, in Lakeland, Florida, and died on May 24, 2014, at age 89 of Alzheimer's disease in St. Louis, Missouri. Mary was predeceased by her husband, Charles, her son, Keith Langston Parker, her brothers Bernard Johnson Langston and Thomas Martin Langston, her sister Annie Elizabeth (Betty) Langston Tomlinson, her nephew Thomas Russell (Rusty) Tomlinson, her niece Laura Ann Langston, her great-nephew Bradley Hays Langston, and her parents. She is survived by her sister Margaret Langston Badder of St. Louis MO, her son Charles S. Parker of Independence OR, her daughters Christina Parker of Boston MA, Katherine Parker Ponder of St. Louis MO, and Sandra Parker Bigg of St. Louis MO, her daughter-in-law Linda Carroll Parker of Durham NC, her former son-in-law Steven Bigg of St. Louis MO, her sister-in-law Martha Morton Langston of Lakeland FL, and her brother-in-law Brent Parker of Colorado Springs CO. She is also survived by her nephews Scott Hays Langston of Lakeland FL, John Langston Tomlinson of Maitland FL, her nieces Amelia Langston of Atlanta GA and Barbara Tomlinson Kieszek of Fort Walton Beach FL, and her niece-in-law Elizabeth Waitt Tomlinson of Alexandria VA, as well as 16 grandchildren. Mary grew up in Lakeland, Florida swinging upside down from orange trees, and graduated from Lakeland High School in 1942. She received a B.S. from Florida State College for Women in 1946, and an M.S. in chemistry from Florida State University in 1949. She graduated cum laude from Washington University School of Medicine in 1953 as one of seven women in her class, and was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. Mary contributed to research on growth hormone in the 1960s at Washington University. She developed the first test to measure growth hormone levels, and then treated deficient children with the hormone to normalize their growth. Her test was also used to demonstrate that Robert Wadlow, the so-called Alton Giant who reached a height of 8 feet 11 inches, had an excess of growth hormone in his blood. In 1968, Mary changed career paths to work at the Washington University Health Services, becoming Director at the undergraduate campus in 1971 and the medical campus in 1975 until her retirement in 1990. Despite her professional achievements, Mary's family and church were the cornerstones of her life. In 1953, Mary married a medical school classmate, Charles Ward Parker, and they raised 5 children in Webster Groves, Missouri. Mary designed and built a cabin on a lake in Missouri, and enjoyed jewelry-making, woodworking, and other crafts. She retained the ability to peel an entire orange in 30 seconds without once breaking the peel well into her eighties. She was a proficient tennis and badminton player, golfer, bowler, and bicyclist, winning trophies in each of these sports. Mary was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, serving as moderator from 1985 to 1988. Throughout her life, she devoted much of her time and energy toward helping others. Despite her many activities, she always had fun, and she always was ready to spend a quiet moment talking with her family or with friends. Services: A memorial service will be held June 28 at 11 AM at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, 10 W. Lockwood Ave. 63119. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Mary Langston Parker Scholarship by sending a check made payable to Washington University to the Washington University Medical Alumni and Development Office, Box 1247, 7425 Forsyth Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63105 (please write Mary Langston Parker Scholarship in the memo line).