Edwin W. Parker
Edwin W. Parker
“I do not think I deserved [election to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame], and with a deep sense of humility I have the feeling that I was designated to accept an award as a representative of preachers throughout the State.”
Biography
Edwin Wiley Parker was born in Cuba and came to Texas and then Tennessee with his family when he was a teenager. He received his degree from Asbury College (now Asbury University) in Kentucky and graduated from the Iliff School of Theology, Denver University (now the University of Denver), and McMurry College (now McMurry University) in Texas. Dr. Parker served on the board of trustees and executive board of Oklahoma City University and McMurry College and was pastor of the First Methodist churches at Clinton and Ponca City. He was also the District Superintendent of the Oklahoma City District of churches. Dr. Parker was president of the World Service Commission of the Oklahoma Annual Conference of the Methodist Church.
Fun fact
Dr. Parker traveled extensively to such places as Holland, where he was a delegate to the World Conference of Methodist Youth in 1939, to England, where he was an exchange preacher in 1953, and to Norway, where he was a delegate to the World Conference of Methodist Churches in 1962.
Oklahoma connections
Parker was a Methodist Pastor and Professor of Religion across Oklahoma.