Fr Tom Parker died peacefully on 31 January 2017. Born in Glasson, Co Westmeath on 28 March 1924, he was educated at Glasson NS and St Finian’s College, Mullingar.
He came to Dalgan in September 1941and was ordained priest on 21 December 1947.
After a year in pastoral work in Galway, he was then assigned to Korea in 1950, but with the onset of the Korean War he and other colleagues were assigned to Japan later that year.
Those were very difficult years in Japan: reaching out to people who had little interest in Christianity. For the next 17 years Tom served in Fukuoka, Gobo, Hashimoto, Montana, Kamogawa, Shingu and in Wakayama City.
Assigned then to the USA over the following twenty years he served in Omaha, Quincy, MA, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
An excellent host, his friendly, open personality made him very effective on promotion work. When his health deteriorated he returned to Ireland, and entered the Dalgan Retirement Home in 2008. Tom was a dedicated missionary priest.
Asked in an interview what kept him going over the years he replied, “Well, I suppose saying one’s prayers, and all the prayers offered for us by people at home and in many other places… you can’t explain what kept you going … a miracle, really, when you look back at it now.”
