Myrtle Marijane (McKim) Parker (1916 - 2009)

Born 14 Mar 1916 in Waldheim, Musselshell County, Montana, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Kimber Malcolm Parker — married 14 Jun 1947 in San Francisco, California, United States

Died 15 Feb 2009 at age 92 in Riverside, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Linda Parker [send private message]

Biography

Myrtle was born in Waldheim, Musselshell County, Montana, in 1916 to James McKim and Ora Mae Ebersole. She was the oldest of 10 children. Her father used to call her "Toots." When she was a child, the family moved first to Eddyville, Iowa, then to Osbourne, Idaho, then to Pacific Grove in Northern California. They moved again to Seaside in Monterrey County. Myrtle graduated from high School in Seaside.

By 1935 the family had moved to Oroville, California, where her parents lived the rest of their lives. Myrtle left to attend Glad Tidings Bible Institute in San Francisco. Her sisters later moved to San Francisco and they shared an apartment. Myrtle worked for a wealthy fmaily in the Marina where she took card of the house and children and cooked. Later, she worked as a bookkeeper for a piano company.

When the United States became involved in World War II Myrtle worked as a welder on the Liberty ships in Sausalito. After the war, she met Kimber Parker and they were married in San Francisco on June 14, 1947. Her husband went to the University of California, Berkeley, and then transferred to the pharmacy school at the University of Southern California (USC). They lived in Torrance while he was in school and then moved back to the Bay Area. They bought a house in Daly City and welcomed the birth of their son, Jonathan, in 1953.

In 1955 Myrtle's husband had the opportunity to become a partner in Crown Drug. They moved to Fremont where Kim bought out his partner and he an Myrtle ran the store. He was the pharmacist while Myrtle became the bookkeeper, buyer, and filled in as needed.

Kim and Myrtle were very active in their church, Newark Assembly of God. In the 1970s, they welcomed several foreign exchange students into their home: a boy from Germany followed by girls from the Netherlands and Chile.

After Myrtle's husband died unexpectedly in 1984, Myrtle sold the drugstore and house and moved to Watsonville, California, to be near her son and his family. She later followed them to Huntington, Indiana, and rented a house near the family. Myrtle was active with her church and enjoyed babysitting her grandchildren. Her grandchildren used to go to her house after school and she taught her granddaughter how to bake. When her son Jonathan moved again due to job opportunities, she followed the family to Charleston, South Carolina, and then later back to California.

Myrtle enjoyed going to classical music performances with her son Jonathan. She also loved getting together with family for holidays and special occasions.

Myrtle passed away on February 15, 2009, in Riverside California. She is buried next to her husband in Irvington Memorial Cemetery in Fremont, California.

Sources

• Personal recollections of Jonathan Parker and his wife Linda as of 10 Nov 2022.

• BirthDetail: Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services; Helena, Montana; Montana, Birth Records, 1871-1919; Box Number: 72, Source information Title, Montana, Birth Records, 1897-1919

• Year: 1920; Census Place: East Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa; Roll: T625_501; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 68

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCDF-MNP : accessed 10 November 2022), Myrtle Mckim in household of James Mckim, Monterey, Monterey, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 28, sheet 11A, line 31, family 293, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 179; FHL microfilm 2,339,914.

• "California, San Francisco County Records, 1824-1997," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL4B-CVXL : 22 July 2021), Kimber M Parker and Myrtle M McKim, 14 Jun 1947; citing Marriage, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, San Francisco Public Library, California; FamilySearch digital folder 004270221.

• Death: Oroville Mercury Register; Publication Date: 11 Jan 1982; Publication Place: Oroville, California, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/681783732/?article=4a4caab6-611b-4b01-8651-32bbb7d90126&focus=0.4999846,0.08502968,0.7372506,0.23731305&xid=3355, Source information: Title, Beta: Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1940-1955

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKKT-LXRV : accessed 10 November 2022), Parker Myrtle Marijane Parker, Riverside, California, United States, 25 Feb 2009; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Press-Enterprise, The, born-digital text.

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:66M9-LW9J : 16 December 2021), Myrtle M Parker, ; Burial, Fremont, Alameda, California, United States of America, Irvington Memorial Cemetery; citing record ID 232250933, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.