Dennis M. Parker Leominster, WWII fighter pilot, was POW; 88 LEOMINSTER Dennis M. Parker, 88, died on Saturday, August 23, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Ruth (Hull) Parker of Leominster; a daughter, Kathleen Gilmore of West Springfield; three sons, John S. Parker and his wife, Donna of Pepperell; Dennis M. Parker, Jr. of Tempe, AZ; and Philip D. Parker and his wife, Barbara of Clinton. He leaves a sister, Hester and her husband, Al Persson of Medford, WI; eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his first wife Dorothy (Goullis) Parker who died in 1981, and a sister, Marion Huff who died in 1995. Denny was born in Fitchburg to the late Sherman and Ruth (Bearle) Parker and was a graduate of the Fitchburg High School Class of 1938. When WWII erupted, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force to serve as a fighter pilot. After many missions, he was shot down on April 12, 1944, over a small farming village in Austria. He spent thirteen months as a P.O.W. in Germany. A journal of that period can be found at www.checkertail.com. When he returned home from the war in 1945, he married Dorothy Goullis and settled in Clinton to work and raise a family. Deno was employed for many years at the former Colonial Press. He was graced with a wonderfully playful nature and his improvised games often made their home a headquarters for neighborhood children. He was a Little League coach, a golfer, and enjoyed backyard basketball with his family. Denny's predominant interest was photography. For the past 60 years he has documented the events surrounding his own life, leaving an extraordinary record for future generations. In 2003, after a remarkable series of correspondences and coincidences, Dennis was invited back to Austria by the cultural committee of Grunbach, the small town where he had been shot down 55 years earlier. He spent a week as their honored guest, invited by individual families to dinner, touring the country and doing television interviews. On the final night of his stay, most of the town turned out for a party in his honor where he was presented with the entire tail of his plane featuring its distinctive checkertail pattern. A dairy farmer had spirited it from the crash site and stored it in his hayloft since the end of the war. There is no worthy description for the emotional intensity of the moment. PARKER A funeral service is to be held on Monday, August 25, 2008 at 11 A.M. at the Philbin-Comeau Funeral Home, 176 Water St., Clinton. Burial is to follow at St. John Cemetery in Lancaster. Calling hours will be held prior to services on Monday in the funeral home from 10 until 11 A.M. Memorial contributions may be placed in memory of Dennis M. Parker to the Disabled American Veterans-Room 546 State House, Boston, MA 02133-1042. Online condolences may be placed at www.philbincomeaufh.com