Eddi Parker dies at 77

Edna "Eddi" Parker, 77, died February 20, 2013.

Be there animals in heaven, Eddi will be estatic. She loved them, big, small, wild. She leaves behind several cats and a dog.

She was born June 26, 1935 in Akron and was a redhead all her life. Eddi graduated at age 20 from Ohio State University where she had joined Delta Zeta sorority. When she turned 21, she joined Pan American World Airways as a stewardess and later purser, flying to most of the world. She loved to regale her friends with airline stories. One of her favorites was a night flight to Hawaii when engine trouble developed and they had to turn back to San Francisco. On the long flight back, she noticed the woman seated behind her had fainted. She started to get up to help her and the purser, seated next to her, said, "Leave her alone. She is the only happy person on this plane." He was right.

Eddi was past president of the Akron Chapter of Women in Communications, former national officer of National Federation of Press Women and state president of Press Women. She also held a bachelors degree in education from The University of Akron and a graduate degree in geriatrics from there. She had a masters in History from the University of Alaska. Eddi was a former reporter and editor with the Akron Beacon Journal. She later taught English at both Kent State and The University of Akron for 34 years.

She leaves behind husband, Robert Crawford; son, Jonathan Crawford; and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Murray S. Parker and Vera Brown; brothers, Robert and Charles; and sister, Alice Johnson.

Services will be private and she will be entombed at Rose Hill Burial Park in the main chapel.

(Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)

Published in Akron Beacon Journal on February 24, 2013