Paul Parker was remembered by his friends this week as a biblical scholar, ``a curmudgeon, but a nice curmudgeon,'' and a man who gave his time to helping others simply because he enjoyed it.

A longtime resident of Austin who had lived in Marble Falls for the past four years, Parker died of a heart attack Monday at 73. A memorial service will be 10 a.m. today at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Marble Falls. Burial will be in Somerville, where he grew up.

Parker served in the Navy during World War II and later received a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University and a master's degree from the University of Houston.

For nearly 20 years, he was an engineer for the City of Austin, specializing in computers.

The Rev. Paul DeMotte of St. Andrew said Parker was ``a very compassionate guy and at the same time very technical. He worked with mathematical models for most his life, but he didn't seem like an engineer; he broke the mold."

Janette Parker, who was for many years secretary of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Austin and no relation to Paul Parker, said: ``He was a curmudgeon, but a very nice curmudgeon. He taught math to people in the county jail to help them get their (high school equivalency diplomas). If there was a death or a crisis in our family, he and Bernice were the ones you counted on."

Parker and his wife, the former Bernice Landua, were, at his death, married a month shy of 50 years.

Lee Jones, who attended the same Austin church as Parker, said: ``He was one of those guys who never stopped learning things. He was a real Bible scholar, a guy who knew the content of the Bible very well and could shoot down a false argument based on Scripture faster than you can imagine."

Parker was the subject of a 1986 story in the Austin American-Statesman. It related how he took care of business accounts for several elderly men who lived in a nursing home, filling out necessary forms and taking them shopping. ``I get a real good feeling . . . after doing something for one of them,'' he said then. ``Those have been some of the most satisfying times I've had."

He is survived by his wife, Bernice Parker of Marble Falls; son David Parker of Austin; and daughters Eileen Drake of Horseshoe Bay, Annette Wilson of Cartersville, Ga., and Julie Ortolon of Lakeway.

Copyright © 1999, The Austin American-Statesman

Mike Kelley, Former Austin engineer Parker dies at 73., 05-19-1999.