Jeane M. Parker

Jeane Ruth McCrary Parker, 88, of Gainesville, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 4, 2026. Born on February 18, 1938, in Birmingham, Alabama, she was the daughter of Walter Deems McCrary, Jr. and Ruth Chaffin McCrary. She attended Tulane University before earning her Bachelor of Architecture from Auburn University.

Jeane made her home in Gainesville in the early 1960s and devoted more than six decades of her life to this community. She and her husband, A. Jerome Parker, Jr., were both accomplished architects who owned and operated Parker Architects, Inc. in Gainesville. Together they designed office buildings, community centers, government buildings, and residences across north Georgia, leaving an enduring mark on the landscape and life of the region. Jerome’s career spanned more than 200 school projects — a body of work that shaped classrooms and communities across the region for a generation. Jeane brought a particular passion for historic preservation to her practice; among her most notable projects was the adaptive reuse of the old Candler Street Elementary School in Gainesville, which she transformed into professional offices — breathing new life into a beloved piece of local history. Her Anglican faith was a steady, formative part of her life — she and Jerome were active in their church community for decades and together helped found Saint Francis Anglican Catholic Church in Gainesville.

Jeane was a woman of gracious dignity and uncommon strength — a natural leader and a dominant force in the civic and cultural life of Gainesville, always leading by example and with quiet conviction. She was a dedicated champion of historic preservation across northeast Georgia, and a devoted patron of the visual arts whose Christian faith guided her quietly and steadily throughout her life. Her unyielding spirit, her warmth, and her love for family left a lasting mark on everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.

Her civic and community leadership spanned decades and many causes. She served multiple terms as President of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, General James Longstreet Chapter — a distinction recognized in 2013 when she received the UDC’s Winnie Davis Medal for outstanding contributions to history. She served as Past President of the Junior League of Gainesville- Hall County and the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, where she also taught sculpture. She was a founding member and Vice President of the Commerce Club of Gainesville, and Chairwoman of the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia, where she held a Life Membership. A devoted genealogist, Jeane spent decades tracing her family’s deep roots in American history, earning membership in the nation’s foremost hereditary patriotic societies: the Daughters of the American Revolution; the United Daughters of the Confederacy; the Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars (Charter Member, Oconee War Chapter); the United States Daughters of 1812; the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century; the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims; the Huguenot Society; the Jamestowne Society; the National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters; and the First Families of Georgia, of which she was a Life Member.

She is survived by her son, Kyle J. Parker and his wife Jennifer, of Gainesville; her daughter, Susan Parker Henson and her husband Palmer Henson, of Atlanta; her granddaughter, Caroline Benzel, of Atlanta; her sister-in-law, Betty Parker, of Fort Myers, Florida; and her special friend, Debbie Gravitt. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, A. Jerome Parker, Jr.; her brother-in-law, Wiley M. Parker, Sr.; her father, Walter Deems McCrary, Jr.; and her mother, Ruth Chaffin McCrary.

Funeral services will be held Friday April 10, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of Little & Davenport Funeral Home. Graveside burial will follow at Alta Vista Cemetery, where she will be laid to rest beside her husband, A. Jerome Parker, Jr. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Thursday April 9, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and again Friday from 10:00 a.m. until the funeral hour.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia (845 West Ridge Road, Gainesville, GA 30501 | negeorgiahumane.org) or to any of the civic, patriotic, or historic preservation organizations that Jeane dedicated her life to supporting.

Those wishing to send online condolences to the family may do so at littledavenport.com

Little & Davenport Funeral Home and Crematory, 355 Dawsonville Highway, SW, Gainesville, Georgia 30501 is in charge of arrangements.

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