From the Morton Times-News - Morton, IL, January 29, 2013: Harriette Lois (Barnum) Parker, 92, formerly of East Peoria, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Jan. 18, 2013, in Pinellas Park, Fla. (her home for the past 20 years).
She was born Sept. 22, 1920, in Forrest, Ill., to William Webster and Rose Belle (Morris) Barnum. She married John E. Parker in 1941 in Bay City, Mich. He preceded her in death.
She is also preceded in death by three siblings, Mattie (Albert) Meyer of Bay City, Mich., Bloyce Barnum of Metamora, Ruth (Floyd) Degenhart of San Diego, Calif., and one brother-in-law, Oscar Jensen of Laguna Niguel, Calif. She was a loving mother to John Timothy Parker Sr. of Peoria, William Jeffrey Parker and his wife Maureen (McNally) of Clearwater, Fla. and Roseanna Jean (Parker) Parker and her husband Kenneth Dean of Morton. Harriette was a generous, compassionate, faithful woman who adored her grandchildren, Austin and Joni (Pflederer) Parker of Normal, Abbie (Parker) and Keith Folken of Peoria and Jason Parker of Peoria. She had a very special bond with her two oldest grandsons, John Timothy Jr. and JoAnna Parker of Escondido, Calif., and Thor and Erin Parker of New York City, N.Y. She delighted in seeing her three great-grandchildren, Ezra, Jordan and Joy Parker of Normal.
She is also survived by her sister, Dephane Jensen of Laguna Niguel, Calif., and numerous nieces and nephews in Michigan, California and Florida. Harriette worked for the U.S. military in Bremerton, Wash., in the 1940s, at Great Central Insurance Co. in the 1950s, and then joined Caterpillar Inc. as a keypunch operator in 1964. She last worked in Management Payroll at Caterpillar and retired in 1990 after 26-plus years of service. Services were held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, at Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Morton with Pastor Kirk Moser officiating. Visitation was from 10 to 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial was at 2 p.m. in Forrest Cemetery in Forrest, Ill.