Marshall Parker

Marshall Parker
Member of the South Carolina State Senate from Oconee County
In office 1957–1967
Personal details
Born	Marshall Joyner Parker (1922-04-25)April 25, 1922 Seaboard, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	November 15, 2008(2008-11-15) (aged 86) Seneca, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican (1966–2008) Democratic (before 1966)
Spouse	Martha Parker (married 1943–2008, his death)
Children	Four daughters
Residence(s)	Seneca, South Carolina
Alma mater	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Profession	Small Business Owner
Military service
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Battles/wars	Pacific Theatre of World War II

Marshall Joyner Parker (April 25, 1922 – November 15, 2008) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina.

Background

Born in Seaboard in Northampton County in northeastern North Carolina, Parker graduated in 1944 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In his first year of college, Parker received the Freshmen Athlete of the Year Award. Later, he lettered in boxing and football. Immediately following graduation, he entered the United States Marine Corps and served in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.

Political career

After military service, Parker moved briefly to

, having represented Oconee County, which includes his hometown of Seneca. He remained in the state Senate from 1957 to 1967, in which capacity he was instrumental in the creation of his state's technical education system. He owned and operated Oconee Daries, a milk processing plant, which serviced the Golden Corner of South Carolina.

In 1966, Parker

. Thereafter in the general election, Hollings narrowly defeated the Republican convert Marshall Parker.

Two years later in 1968, when Senator Hollings sought a full six-year term, he defeated Parker by a comfortable margin even though the Republican presidential nominee,

.

Despite his twin defeats by Hollings for the U.S. Senate, Parker remained committed to the newly invigorated South Carolina Republican Party as well as the national GOP. He ran for Congress from

Ronald W. Reagan

.

Later years

Marshall Parker retired to his Oconee County farm, where he raised beef cattle. He was a member of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion and a former member of the Seneca Lions, Sertoma, and Rotary International clubs. He was a former trustee and a past president of the Capital Foundation of Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton, South Carolina. The auditorium there is named in his honor.

Parker was an active

. He and his wife of sixty-five years, Martha Parker, had four daughters, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild at the time of his death. He died at the age of eighty-six at Oconee Medical Center in Seneca, South Carolina, after experiencing a year of declining health.

See also

• List of American politicians who switched parties in office

References

External links

• The Political Graveyard

Party political offices
Preceded by W. D. Workman Jr.	Class 3) 1966, 1968	Succeeded by Gwenyfred Bush