All rowers are competitive, but even the toughest of oarsmen say that Parker’s desire and willpower are unique.

“He would always jump right in and compete with us,” Peter Lowe ‘74 remembered. “He would go over to the stadium; he’d play soccer with us when it got too windy.”

“The guy was really amazing,” Shealy added. “It was a really phenomenal sight. He just would not want to be beaten. He would almost kill himself in some of these alternative training methods. Our jaws were slack most of the time watching him compete.”

The games didn’t stop when the rowers graduated.

“After we graduated, a number of us stayed in touch,” Lowe said. “We continued to compete with him in running or road races or cross country ski races or now on the golf course. His oarsmen loved to compete against him ... his intensity and focus and concentration were inspirational.”

Recently, Parker has had to apply his willpower to matters more severe than sport. Earlier this year, he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of blood cancer. The first clue that something was amiss was a kidney infection, which was first noticed at this year’s Eastern Sprints.

Perhaps it’s the years in the Navy, perhaps it’s his miles in the single, or perhaps it’s because he’s taken sport so seriously for so long, but Parker has been able to approach his cancer as if it were another big race.

“I’ve never seen anyone approach cancer with such toughness,” McDaniel said. “The character traits that he likes in rowers--persistence, stubbornness--he’s using them to deal with the hurdle well. I’ve never seen anyone approach it in the same way.”

FATHER FIGURE

“I think anybody who’s rowed for him has a special relationship with him,” Shealy said. “He’s kind of like a second father ... The guy’s an amazing coach, an amazing human being. We were all very fortunate to have intersected each other’s lives.”

Parker’s dedication and character have inspired legions of rowers to want to win for him.

“You wanted to perform for the guy, to make him satisfied,” Shealy said. “It really was about the Harvard tradition, about appeasing the gods, and doing the best you could for the man.”

DiSanto felt similarly this summer when his crew took silver in at the IRA national championships. It was the first time the Crimson 1V had medalled since 2007, but DiSanto had been hoping to give his mentor more.

“He’s kind of gotten us to not just want to row for ourselves,” DiSanto added. “When I got off the water at IRAs, I didn’t really feel bad for myself. I felt that I had let him down. I think he was very proud of us, but all of us wanted to win that one for him.”

AN ENDURING LEGACY