The Waterdown community recently lost a cornerstone when Donna Fay Parker passed away on Feb. 7.
FlamboroughToday had an opportunity to sit down with her husband, Allan (Al) Parker, their daughter, Judith Colley, and Judith’s daughter, Laura Colley.
Donna was born to Elgin and Jean Lattimer, farmers in the Cayuga area, on Nov. 11, 1938. She and her younger sister, Joanne, were expected to help with many farm chores, including driving the tractor, stooking grain and making maple syrup. After Caledonia High School, Donna took nurses’ training at Hamilton General Hospital, earning her RN in 1959.
Over her career, she acquired wide work experience, including her first full-time position on the men’s surgery ward at Hamilton General Hospital.
Al and Donna met through church and knew very quickly that what they had was special. Al reported that, after just three weeks of dating, Donna told him, “I live for when you come.”
Their long engagement included three years of study for them both at the Canadian Bible College in Regina. They got married on Sept. 7, 1963 in Hamilton and their first home together was on 24th Street in Hamilton. Al was finishing his degree at McMaster and Donna was working at Mountain Hamilton Hospital in
Labour & Delivery. They welcomed their daughter Judith during this time.
Next, the family moved to Sudbury, where they had their son Jim, and then to Pembroke, where son Bruce was born.
Donna and Al moved their family to Waterdown in 1970 because Al had secured a job teaching at Mary Hopkins Public School. At first, they were renting a house on Main Street near the post office.
Once they were settled in, Donna worked at the office of local GP Dr. Robertson’s and did some relief at the Cama Woodlands long-term care home. They were familiar with Waterdown before their move because Al’s sister, Pat Anderson, was already living there.
In fact, years before, while visiting Pat and her family, Donna and Al spotted a home they liked and decided that they “would like to live in that house behind the blue door,” says Al, noting after that, it was always referred to as “our house.”
After they had been in Waterdown for a year, the house came on the market but they could not afford it, so they did not even look through it. However, a year and a half later, “our house” came up for sale again. Donna and Al went through financial contortions to be able to buy it in 1972 and it has been the family
home ever since.
To help with the mortgage, Donna began working full-time at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington on the Labour and Delivery (L&D) ward.
“She wasn’t a nurse for just any old place. That was the right place for Donna,” says Al. “It was comforting seeing a familiar face in the delivery room,” remembers Kim Hirst (formerly Janjic), a long-time local resident who gave birth at Joseph Brant in 1996.
That year, during a night shift, Donna noticed some medical books on a shelf which were sloppy, so she got up on a chair to tidy them. Unfortunately, the chair was on casters and the resulting fall broke her hip; however, she would not let the hospital phone Al until 6 a.m. because she wanted him to get his sleep.
After that, Donna was restricted to admin work on the L&D ward until she retired in June 1998.
“She was proud and passionate about our family, and about feeding us all,” recounts Laura. “For years and years, even on Christmas Day, we never did anything, we just showed up and everything was there”.
Donna was actively involved with the Waterdown Red Cross. She earned a 40-year pin for her volunteer work with them, which included serving as President,
organizing blood clinics and driving people to medical appointments in Hamilton and Burlington.
Donna was very active at their church, including teaching Sunday school. She was also always “all in” supporting Al’s teaching, making an effort to get to know the students and hosting class parties at their home. Their whole family would go along to scout out Al’s class camping trips to places like Midland,
Tobermory, Killarney and Kingston.
As the family expanded to include spouses and grandchildren, family trips continued to be a tradition. In 2013, Donna and Al took the whole family of 14 to relive their honeymoon trip, in the Appalachian Mountains and Tennessee. For their 60th wedding anniversary in 2023, the whole family went on a cruise from Boston to Montreal, proudly wearing their “Team Parker” shirts.
In 2019, as one of many gifts of love to her family, Donna typed up the story of her life, with a companion volume about Al’s life.
Laura reports that the grandchildren have come to the conclusion that “Grandma was a gamer.” As well as enjoying board games like Wahoo and Scrabble, Donna would play online Solitaire and Minesweeper.
Judith remembers her mother as being “passionate about other people and service.”
“She was a doer,” says Laura, whether she was cooking, typing, knitting or sewing for the family.
Ramneek Pooni, who was in “Mr. Parker’s” Grade 5 class at Mary Hopkins Public School in 1970/71, says, “I remember her very well. She exuded warmth and joy.”
Donna passed away on Feb. 7 and was laid to rest in Waterdown Union Cemetery on Feb. 13.
