December 16, 1920 – December 22, 1982
Davis Parker was born in Troup County, Georgia. His family moved to Sarasota in 1925 when his father became a typesetter for the newly founded Sarasota Herald. Parker had a true romance with JJ Williams Jr.’s daughter, Charlotte, when both were students at Sarasota High School. The couple married immediately after Parker’s return from service in WWII. They were married 37 years and had three sons. Parker earned an accounting degree from the University of Florida, an M.B.A from Wharton, and an LL.B. from the University of Florida, where he was also an Assistant Professor of Accounting.
During World War II, Parker was a waist gunner and radio/radar operator on a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. He flew 35 combat missions in the Pacific theater from Guadalcanal to the Philippines in the 13th Air Force.
For his service, he received a Purple Heart, three air medals, and a Presidential merit citation. His war experiences are collected in the book Waist Gunner: The Diary of William Davis Parker in World War II by S. Sidney Ulmer.
Following his discharge, Parker served a year as a Treasury Agent with the Intelligence Unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. He obtained his Florida CPA license in 1948 and practiced public accounting while working on his law degree. Following graduation from law school in 1953, he joined his father-in-law at the firm that now bears his name. Parker’s law practice concentrated on corporate transactions and taxation. Among his many accomplishments, he was named to the board of directors of First Federal Savings and Loan Association, as well as the board of Ellis Bank & Trust Co. When the firm incorporated in 1972, he was elected the first
firm president.
Active in many community organizations, Parker was chairman of the board of Selby Botanical Gardens, president of the Sarasota County Bar Association, a member of the board of trustees of Mote Marine Laboratory and the Mote Marine Foundation, and director emeritus and chairman of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Foundation. He was also active in the Boy Scouts, Little League, and other Sarasota youth programs.