John George Parker
Obituaries
The Daily Sentinel page 5A - May 22, 2021
John Parker passed away on May 11, 2021, in Omaha, Nebraska,
from complications of diabetes.
John was born in Julesburg, CO, to Foster and Louise Parker. He
graduated from Julesburg High School in 1971. He participated in
all sports and was a Colorado All State end on the 1970 Julesburg
state champion football team.
John enrolled at the University of Northern Colorado after high
school. He entered the Army in 1972 as one of the last draftees
during the Vietnam era and was stationed in the Far East. Upon
discharge he resumed his education and received a bachelors degree
in communications from Colorado State University. He decided to
re-enter the military and enlisted in the Air Force. He was stationed
for most of his career at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City where he
reached the rank of Captain, flying with the Airborne Warning and
Control System (AWACS) out of Saudi Arabia.
As a civilian in the early 1990’s, John moved to Grand Junction
where he gained his restaurant experience working for the
McDonalds Corp. and managing several of their locations. He
moved back to Oklahoma in 1998 and then ultimately to Paxton,
NE, where he spent the rest of his career in management at an
iconic Nebraska restaurant, OLE’s Big Game Steakhouse.
John was preceded in death by his parents and his step-mother,
Lillie Parker Lockman. He is survived by sister, Barbara Schneider
(Ron), of Loveland, CO; brother, Jeffrey (Sue), of Grand Junction,
and brother, David Beal (Linda), of Boulder, CO.
In addition to his family, his many longtime friends from high
school and the military, and his cats, John’s love was the Oklahoma
Sooners football team. Donations in his name can be to the Paxton,
NE American Legion, P.O. Box 308, Paxton, NE 69155 or a charity
of ones choice.
Per his request, John will be laid to rest at Fort Logan National
Cemetery in Denver.
