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In memory of

Jeffrey A. Parker

Phoenix, AZ, USA

July 17, 1957 - August 23, 2018

Jul 17, 1957 - Aug 23, 2018

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It is with great sadness that the family of Jeffrey Alan “Jeff” Parker announces that Jeff passed away on August 23, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 61. Jeff was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 17, 1957. Jeff was an amazing individual that will be missed by all that knew him. He was a highly accomplished businessman; but most importantly, he was a loving and caring husband, son, son-in-law, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend.

Jeff attended Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. He was elected president of Kappa Alpha fraternity and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1979 and a Master’s degree in Public Administration in 1981. Jeff was honored with the Jacksonville State University Alumnus of the Year Award in 2008.

Jeff began a successful career in the consumer-packaged goods industry. He held management positions at General Foods, Schering-Plough and Con-Agra, as well as Senior Executive positions at Sara Lee, Foster Farms and Crider Foods. His significant success in business allowed Jeff to retire from the corporate sector at the young age of 40. He then accepted a position as Executive in Residence at Jacksonville State University’s College of Commerce and Business Administration. He spent more than 13 years teaching the capstone courses in both the graduate and undergraduate programs. His students valued his real-world experience and his desire to help them succeed.

In 2005 Dr. Warren Sarrell, a retired cardiologist, was involved in a small dental center run by the local county Community Foundation. With Jeff’s assistance and guidance, the Sarrell Regional Dental Centers for Public Health was established as a non-profit organization, with Jeff Parker as the CEO. Their mission was to provide access to quality dental care for our country’s most underserved and vulnerable children. Sarrell Dental grew from serving a few thousand children in 2005 to treating nearly 845,000 children by 2015, with 17 dental clinics and a mobile dental bus.

Jeff’s success at Sarrell was studied and recognized nationwide: the June 2012 episode of PBS’s Frontline series features how Sarrell had become one of the few working models in America to see growing success with Medicaid recipients. In the December 2013 issue of HealthLeaders Magazine, Jeff was selected as one of the twenty individuals that changed healthcare for the better. In February 2014, Jeff received the high honor of being named an Ashoka Fellow for his work as a social entrepreneur, becoming the first person in the USA honored from the oral health field. In May 2015, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters before giving the commencement address to the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health. In November 2015, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research presented Jeff as the recipient of their 2015 Richard C. Cornuelle Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

Jeff retired on December 31, 2015. He and his beloved wife, Diana, moved to Phoenix, Arizona where they continued their passion for traveling around the world together. The couple met in 1992 and were married in 1998. Diana and Jeff had been on this journey together for over 26-years and she played a critical role in all of their successes.

In addition to Diana, Jeff is survived by: his mother Patricia Foland and her husband Daniel of Old Hickory, Tennessee; father William Parker and his wife Tammie of Somerset, Ohio; father-in-law and mother-in-law Anthony and Esther Lopez of Phoenix, Arizona; sister Kimberly Molnar and husband Stephen of Nashville, Tennessee; brother Douglas Parker and his wife Gwen of Dallas, Texas; sister Pamela Fine of Detroit, Michigan; half-sister Tina Parker of Somerset, Ohio; as well as Diana’s brother Peter Lopez and his wife Miriam of Clovis, California. He is also survived by eight adoring nieces and nephews and two grand-nephews.

There will be a Celebration of Jeff’s Life at The Foundry, 4250 Andrew Jackson Parkway, Hermitage TN 37076 at 2:00pm on September 29, 2018. The family will be available beginning at 1:00pm. All friends and family are invited to share memories of Jeff and community with each other as we celebrate the gift of his life. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Jeffrey A. Parker Scholarship that he established in 1995 for JSU students.
Jacksonville State University Foundation
700 Pelham Road
Jacksonville, AL 36265
Re: Jeffrey A. Parker Scholarship

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