Final Salute

James C. “Jim” Parker, age 90 years, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 6, 2026, and is now reunited in eternity with his wife of 70 years, Virginia May (Winn) Parker.

James was born in Johnson County, Missouri, to Marion Francis Parker and Ada Lucille (Campbell) Parker, and joined the U.S. Navy Seabees in 1955 after graduating high school. He completed boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, then returned to Warrensburg later that year and married his sweetheart Virginia May of Deepwater, Missouri, on October 25, 1955. After their honeymoon, the Parkers relocated on military orders to Port Hueneme, California, where James completed Construction Mechanic “A” School.

James completed 30 years in the Navy and retired as a Master Chief Equipmentman in 1985. He proudly served with many shore and sea commands, including Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE, Naval Mobile Construction TEN, Naval Mobile Construction SEVEN, and Commander, Construction Battalions Atlantic.

James also served with Defense Support Unit Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and with Naval Mobile Construction Battalions 128 and 74, where he was forward deployed several times to combat zones in Vietnam. Upon his return, he served as an instructor for Disaster Recovery Department Gulfport, Mississippi, during which time he led teams of Seabees in the immediate rescue and recovery following Hurricane Camille in 1969, and subsequently being assigned as Director, Construction Mechanic School at Gulfport. In 1974 James transferred to the west coast where he served as computer systems coordinator for Civil Engineer Support O ce Port Hueneme, California. While attached to CESO, Jim designed the programming for the Naval Construction Force’s heavy equipment maintenance program worldwide until his retirement from the Navy in 1985.

Following retirement, James and Virginia settled in Oxnard, California, where he began a second career with Infotech, Inc. in Camarillo, California, as a project manager. Always supporting the Seabees, he volunteered as a docent at the Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, conducting tours and advocating for the relocation of the museum outside the military facility’s perimeter to increase and encourage public visits and tours. He also served as Commander, Navy Seabee Veterans of America Island X-7 in Ventura County, California, and taught numerous MacIntosh computer courses to the public.

James was preceded in death by his wife Virginia May (Winn) Parker in May 2025. He is survived by his four children, Margaret Hays (Brooks), Mary Parker (Ed She eld), Jamie Murray (Dean) and William Parker (Liza); his niece Sharon Richards Miller, his nephew Bart Richards (Shelley) and their sons Parker Richards and Bryant Richards. James also leaves behind ten grandchildren (Brandi, Jessica, Matthew, Robert, Christopher, Nicholas, William, Je rey, Scarlett, and Mia), sixteen great grandchildren, one great-great grandson, and a great-great granddaughter due to arrive in June.

Funeral services in California are Sunday, April 19, 2026 under the direction of O’Connor Mortuary & Chapel, 25301 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Sweeney-Phillips & Holdren Funeral Home with a visitation one hour prior. Interment with full military honors will then be held at Oak Grove Cemetery in Warrensburg, Missouri.