John Terrence ParkerJuly 18, 1936 - November 21, 2016Los GatosJohn Parker passed away quietly at home on November 21st due to complications from liver cancer. He was 80 years old.John was born on July 18, 1936, in Ross, California to Terry and Dorothy Parker. After graduating from San Ignatius Catholic High School in San Francisco, he attended Santa Clara University studying mechanical engineering. During this time he and his college buddies Tom Maino, Bill McGuire, Bill "Spider Web" Webb, Bill Egan and Don Savaant were known as quite the pranksters.He met his wife Peggy at the San Jose State College's Newman Club in 1957 and they married on December 6th, 1959. John served in the United States Army from 1959 to 1961, during which their first child, Kelly, was born in Maryland. They eventually settled back in California where they had four more children, Michael, Gail, Patrick and Darcy. John began working as an engineer for Lockheed in 1965 where he worked until his retirement in September of 1992. In 1969, he built his family home in the Santa Cruz Mountains where he and Peggy have resided until his death.An avid skier, he skied often and taught all five of his children to ski. He also loved to swim, frequently going abalone diving in Mendicino and scuba diving when traveling to Roatan, Honduras. He enjoyed collecting model trains, building a replica of the small Canadian town of Castlegar, where his mother had lived as a child. He and Peggy were fortunate to be able to travel often during retirement, visiting many countries throughout the world. One of the most memorable family trips was a 10-day bus tour of Ireland with all 25 members of his family in the summer of 2015. The family enjoyed a visit to the Parker Farm in Athlone, Ireland with cousin, Brother Coleman.He will always be remembered for his laugh and his love of funny movies, "Young Frankenstein" and any others by Mel Brooks, in particular. He was a die-hard 49er fan, even talking football to the end. John will be sadly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and five children, Kelly (& Doug) Young of Bend, Oregon, Michael (& Liz) Parker of Livermore, California, Gail Ledbetter of Las Vegas, Nevada, Patrick (& Leslie) Parker of Bend, Oregon and Darcy (& Matt) Cromwell of Bend, Oregon, 11 grandchildren, Jennifer, Chris, Caitlin, Melissa, Bretton, Anna, Corina, Nolan, Rachel, Joseph & Caleb, and great-children Zachary, Abby, & Natalie.A Celebration of Life Mass will be held at Christ Child Church, 23230 Summit Road, Los Gatos on Friday, November 25th at 2:00pm, with a reception to follow at the church community hall.In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Missionary Society of St. Colomban, PO Box 10, St. Colombans, NE 68056, and Hospice of Santa Cruz, 940 Disc Drive, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, www.hospicesantacruz.org. View the online memorial for John Terrence Parker