Hall of Fame
Joseph “Roy” Parker, Jr., is an Ahoskie native who was a strong supporter of Chowan athletics through his newspaper coverage. The Co-Founding Editor of The Fayetteville Times in Ahoskie, Parker grew up the son of a newspaperman. His father, Joseph Roy Parker, Sr., and an uncle, J. Mayon Parker, owned and operated local weekly newspapers in Hertford, Bertie and Northampton counties. What is now the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald was once part of the Parkers’ publications.
Dr. Herb Appenzeller, Chowan’s former athletic director, stated during Parker’s induction into the Hall of Fame, “We knew we had to get our name in front of the public in order to get those people reading about and getting excited about Chowan College Athletics. Roy Parker, Jr., was the man who gave us such creditability. From traveling with the team throughout the state from which he formed his stories, he helped us when no one knew who we were or cared who we were. He doesn’t know how many players we recruited because of his stories.”
For 40 years, Parker left his mark on the community. He told valuable stories in print, which were crafted from his vast knowledge and sense and respect for the past. He penned a small collection of books: “The Best of Roy Parker, Jr.: Reliving Fayetteville’s Storied Military History” in 2007, “Cumberland County: A Brief History” in 1990, and the photo and postcard collection “Moments in Time” in 1999.
With Parker at the helm, The Fayetteville Times published its first edition in July 2, 1973. He would later serve as an Editorial Writer, Contributing Editor and Military History Columnist for The Fayetteville Observer. The Times merged with The Observer in 1990.
In 1941, Parker’s family moved to Chapel Hill where his father taught journalism at the University of North Carolina. Roy Parker would graduate from the school with a Journalism degree in 1952, putting that knowledge to use in the family-owned chain of newspapers.
From 1963 to 1971, Parker worked as a Washington correspondent for Raleigh’s News & Observer. Later, he spent a year with that publication covering the political scene in Raleigh. In July 1972, he left to work on the gubernatorial campaign of Democrat Hargrove “Skipper” Bowles. He would lead The Fayetteville Times a year later.
Parker earned numerous honors, to include the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame (inducted in 1999). Seven years later he received the state’s highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award for public service. The award is bestowed for contribution to the arts, public service and science, and Parker was known to devote time and attention to organizations dedicated to history and the arts.
Over the years, Parker would earn honors for his work, including N.C. Press Association awards for writing excellence in the editorial, criticism and column categories. The UNC School of Journalism awarded him a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1986, and he was named a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at Harvard University.
Parker passed away on April 3, 2013 leaving behind his wife, Marie.
