John Embry Parkerson, Sr., 85, of Tifton passed away Friday, March 5, 2004, at his residence. His funeral service was held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, March 7, 2004, at Tifton's First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Sam Rogers, the Rev. Jerry Lillard and the Rev. Charles Cox officiated. Mr. Parkerson was laid to rest at Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Bob Reinhardt, Henry Sutton, Walter Strange, Dale Pflug, Jake Herring, Gibbs Patrick Sr., Edwin Walker, Bo Wright, Randy Cowart and Jordan Short served as pallbearers.
Born April 26, 1918, in Dodge County, Mr. Parkerson was the son of the late John James Parkerson, who was killed in World War I in 1918, and Lois Dean Embry Parkerson. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Beatrice Elliston Parkerson. A retired bank executive, Mr. Parkerson was educated in the Cochran schools and was a graduate of the American Institute of Banking and the Graduate School of Banking. He served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1945, winning the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster (two Purple Hearts), the Bronze Star Medal with valor (Battle of the Bulge), European Theatre Ribbon with three campaign stars and with his unit, two Presidential Unit Citations, the Franch Croix de Guerre and Belgian Fourragere.
He worked for C&S Bank for more than 30 years, becoming president of the C&S Bank of Tifton, director of Tifton Real Estate Holding Company and chairman of the board of directors of C&S Bank of Tifton. He retired in 1976 as senior vice president of C&S National Bank in Atlanta, system credit administration but continued to serve as a director of C&S Bank of Tifton until 1986.
At various times, he was director and president6 of the Tifton Rotary Club; director and president of the Tift County Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Tift County Development Authority; president of Friends of the Library; and a member of the Library Board; director and president of the Greater Baldwin Foundation; a member of the ABAC President's Club; a charter member and director of the United Way Givers Fund of Tift County; and an executive board member of the Chehaw Council of Boy Scouts of America; and chairman of the East District Finance Committee.
Mr. Parkerson was appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the Georgia Department of Industry and Trade4 in April 1963 by Governor Carl Sanders and served on the board for nine years. He was named Senior Citizen of the Year for Tift County (the George Wright Award) in 1992 and was named to the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce Wall of Fame in 1997.
A Methodist since 125, he taught Sunday School at Tifton's First United Methodist Church and served in a number of administrative positions at the church.
Mr. Parkerson is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, John E. Jr and Jo-Ann Parkerson of Jonesboro; one daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Alex McDonald of New Jersey; one sister, Hazel Cox Sapp of Knoxville, Tennessee; two brothers, O. Wells Cox of Eastman and Charles Cox of Columbus; and two grandchildren, Justin Parkerson and Christopher Parkerson.