Thomas E. Parker, a longtime resident of Wilkes-Barre, passed away in the presence of his loving family on June 14, 2026, ten days shy of his 88th birthday.

Born June 24, 1938 in New York City he was a son of the late Elmer C. and Eleanor Syron Parker.

He came to Wilkes-Barre as a child and grew up in the Heights section of the city, where he graduated from G.A.R. Memorial High School in 1956. Tom joined the US Navy and was honorably discharged following his final tour as a sailor on the destroyer USS Massey. He later continued his education and earned his bachelor’s degree from King’s College in 1976.

Tom was a thirty-one-year veteran of the Police Department of the City of Wilkes-Barre. He served as a patrolman and a detective, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant as Watch Commander before retiring in 1995 after seven years as Captain of the Patrol Division.

Tom was a life member of the Fraternal Order of Police, Northeast Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, and the Luzerne County Chiefs of Police Association.

Tom married Nancy Pluto on May 4, 1963. Over the past sixty-three years, they enjoyed traveling to all fifty states and more than thirty-five countries.

His brothers, Robert Parker and his wife Marie, and William Parker preceded him in death.

His wife, Nancy; daughters, Kimberly Walsh of Dallas and Kevin Walsh, Kathleen Serafin and her husband Todd of Wilkes-Barre, and Kelli Parker of Napa, California; grandchildren, Quinn Soimes and her husband Justin, Thomas Marsola and his fiancée Hailey Sobocinski, and Erika Serafin; a niece and a nephew; other family and friends will miss him very much.

Celebration of Tom’s Life begins Thursday, June 18th, with visitation from 4 to 7 PM at McLaughlin’s, 142 South Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre. It continues on Friday, June 19th, with a Funeral Mass at 10 AM in the Church of Saint Maria Goretti, 46 Laflin Road in Laflin.

Share memories and condolences with Tom’s family at mjmclaughlin.com