Alma V. Parker

Born in 1919 in Ridgewood, New Jersey to John and Ella VanRensalier, Alma VanRensalier Parker was one of seven children -- brothers: Norman, Jack and Billy; and sisters: Marianne, Mary, Juanita and Colleen. Following her parents' untimely deaths, Alma would be raised by her Aunt Bea and Uncle Harold who instilled in her both a strong work ethic and a love of education. After graduating from Eastside High School in Patterson, NJ in 1936, at the young age of 16. Alma entered Hampton Institute, in Hampton, Virginia. At Hampton Alma continued to excel as both a student and a leader. She became member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and was named Hampton Homecoming Queen ("Miss Fidi Amici"). She graduated from Hampton in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. While at Hampton, Alma met Charles Donald Parker (Don), the love of her life and husband of 56 years until Don's death in 1999. Alma and Don were married in Baltimore in 1941, later having two children Elizabeth Anne (Punky) and William VanRensalier (Bunky). In 1942, Alma began a long and distinguished career as an educator with the Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) system at Douglas Senior High School, where she taught Home Economics, Family Life Education, Consumer Education, Clothing and Textiles until 1952. Alma would then move to Dunbar Senior High School where she served as the Department Head of Home Economics from 1958 - 1970, managing a team of 12 teachers, serving as BCPS Supervisor for Home Economics and Adult Education (1964 - 1966), chairing the social committee for the Baltimore Public School Teachers Association, and acting as a delegate for the National Education association (NEA). Alma continued her work as an administrator from 1970 - 1973, serving a specialist/assistant to Dr. Virginia Roeder. In this role, Alma supervised 200 secondary school teachers across BCPS, drafted proposals to secure government and grant funding for various education programs and served on numerous city wide improvement projects. Alma reired from the BCPS Department of Education in 1973, Throughout her career, Alma continued he avid quest for knowledge, taking courses in Supervision and Administration at New York University and Statistics and Evaluation at Johns Hopkins University. Alma would eventually secure a Masters in Education in 1964 from the University of Maryland The breaks in Alma's career with BCPS were due to her husband Don's position as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State/USAID. From 1967 - 1968 Alma and Bunky joined Don during his posts in Bangkok, Thailand; 1968 - 1970 in Monrovia, Liberia and 1973 - 1976 in Lagos, Nigeria, where Punky, son-in-law Thurgood and granddaugther Nicole joined them for extended stays. From their new home base in Washington, DC Alma and Don had a life well lived, taking every opportunity to explore the world, whether working or simply creating memories--braving the safaris in Kenya; viewing the cascading orchestration of the Murchison Falls in Uganda; listening to the King of Thailand playing the saxophone with a full orchestra in Bangkok; sitting on the steps of the Taj Mahal in Inda' basking in the moonlight on the Congo and standing in awe on the Equator. Following Don's retirement in 1981, Alma and Don continued their passion for international service by establishing a consulting firm, Park/VanRensalier Associates.

Tributes

Alma V. Parker

March 23, 1919 - February 7, 2017