FALMOUTH - John van Cortlandt Parker died peacefully, surrounded by his family at home on Falmouth Foreside on June 26th after a galliant battle with MDS. John was born in August of 1930 in the home of his parents in Morristown, NJ. He was the third and last child of Dudley Fuller Parker and Sarah Sturges Parker.
John was blessed with a first class education, graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, earning a BS in Civil Engineering at Princeton and later an MBA at the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth. After Princeton, during the Korean War, he served in the Civil Engineer Corps of the US Navy, mostly at the air base at Kodiak, Alaska. Following the Navy he took a job with the Maine Central Railroad, not knowing a single resident of the state. After 12 years with the railroad, including leaves of absence to attend the Tuck School, he transitioned to Consumers Water Company where he completed his career, including eight years as president and CEO. Shortly after Consumers was sold to Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, John wrote a history of the company entitled From Maine to the Main Line. John also remained active in the naval reserve after discharge, eventually retiring as a Captain.
Just after arriving in Maine, John was introduced to Ann C. Payson, whom he married in 1957, a week after gaining his MBA. They were married for 61 years and raised four children and four grandchildren, all whom model John's love of the outdoors.
John played many sports. His best at school was lacrosse. At Exeter he played on a New England championship team and at Princeton he played on a national championship team. Later in life he played fair tennis and terrible golf. His better sports were sailing in the summer and skiing in the winter. While he never owned a sailboat himself, he crewed on dozens of races including some 25 Monhegan races and a few Halifax and Bermuda races. He and Ann skied Sugarloaf for 65 consecutive winters and enjoyed ski vacations with friends and family in many other resorts around the world. John twice broke his neck while skiing but was not deterred from the sport he and Ann most loved doing together. He last skied in April of 2018 at the age of 87. John also enjoyed hiking many of the high peaks in Maine, New Hampshire and the Adirondacks, as well as mountain climbing with his sons guiding him up Mt Rainier and The Grand Teton. John was an avid bridge player and regularly beat his family at Oh Hell.
John thoroughly enjoyed working around his home, where Ann has lived the majority of her life. With a dull axe, John enjoyed splitting all the wood they would burn in winter. As a registered professional engineer John designed and built the pier and float which served as the base for decades of family enjoyment on Casco Bay. He also built two marine railways, one standard gauge to haul their boat and one 11 foot gauge for the ramp and float. John fished a dozen lobster traps for over 25 years, marking his traps with orange and black buoys representative of his alma mater.
John and Ann enjoyed traveling. They cruised many times, mostly river barge trips in Europe and on friends' boats in New England and the Caribbean. Over the years John cruised the entire coastline from Connecticut to the eastern end of Nova Scotia. John and Ann's favorite trips were MFOs (Mandatory Family Outings), where John set aside his thrifty nature and generously underwrote Caribbean vacations for the entire family. The MFOs solidified that "families that play together stay together."
John served on many non-profit boards and committees including The United Way, The Catherine Morrill Day Nursery, Thomas College, Waynflete School, Wayfinder School, The Victoria Mansion, The Maine Historical Society, Sun Savings and Loan (Chairman), Falmouth Zoning Board (Chairman), The Sugarloaf Water Association, and the National Association of Water Companies (President). He was Alumni Class President at Exeter, and served on the investment committees of Maine Health and The Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maine. He was a docent for the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad which allowed him to share his love of railroad history. John had strong opinions and his letters to the editor were regularly published in the Portland Press Herald and other publications which generated lively dialogue amongst friends and family.
John was predeceased by his parents and his sister, Sarah. He is survived by his older brother, Richard, of Catonsville, MD; his wife, Ann; his daughter, Elizabeth (Betsy) and husband, James Landmann of Yarmouth; his son, David and grandson Jordan of Bainbridge Island, WA; his son, Andrew, Michelle Palmer and grandson, Cortland of Park City, UT; and his son, Stephen, wife, Jane, grandaughter, Emily and grandson, Ashanti Haywood of Yarmouth.
John was a lifelong blood donor. At his request, his body has been donated to The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine for education and research.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., on Thursdsay, July 5, 2018, at The Episcopal Church of Saint Mary, Falmouth, with a reception immediately following at the Portland Country Club.