Good Neighbors: Couple believe in doing their part

Sally Savage owes a debt that she can never repay. While there is not a price tag on her obligation, she feels it nonetheless.

“Joe and Jan Parker are a blessing,” Savage says over the phone. “I don’t know really what I would do without them.”

Joe and Jan Parker have been residents of their Hoffman Street neighborhood since 1964. Joe was a commercial pilot for the Sunshine Mine when they purchased their home.

“I’m a kick-in-the-gate and break-the-ice kind of neighbor, and that’s exactly what I did when we moved in here,” says Joe Parker.

By that, he means that being his friend wasn’t an option; rather, it was a requirement in order to have the type of neighborhood in which people desire to live.

Both farm kids – Joe grew up on a farm near Moscow, Idaho, and Jan on a farm in central Washington – the Parkers agree that this lifestyle formed who they are today.

“If everyone didn’t do his or her job, things died. We had to pitch in and work together for the greater good,” says Jan.

And pitch in, the Parkers do.

Savage’s parents live across the street from Joe and Jan. Their home is visible from the front-room window. Some weeks ago, Savage’s father, Gene Davis, suffered a heart episode. Jan called 911 and then called Savage, who lives in Selah, Wash.

“Jan took charge. She treats us all like family. She went to the hospital with Dad, and I stayed at home with Mom because she (Mom) gets confused,” Savage says. “Our relationship with Joe and Jan is more like family than friendship.”

Bob Schroeder couldn’t agree more.

Schroeder knew the Parkers as a teenager when their families moved into the neighborhood together. Now a resident on the West Side of the state, Schroeder refers to Joe and Jan as “a godsend.”

Schroeder’s mother, a widow since 1978, recently moved into an assisted-living center. It was Joe and Jan Parker who moved her into the facility and took care of the estate sale when Schroeder’s job wouldn’t allow him the time he needed to help with the move.

“Words can’t describe how deep my feelings go or how deep my gratitude for them is,” Schroeder says from his West Side home.

“They are such wonderful people, willing to go the extra mile. They are genuinely concerned about the welfare of others, and I am fortunate to call them my friends.”

The idea of calling attention to their deeds makes the Parkers uncomfortable. They want the rest of the world to know what wonderful neighbors they have as well.

Joe and Jan have countless stories about the friendships that have blossomed in their modest postwar-era neighborhood. They would much prefer to discuss their only child, Don, a Navy test pilot, and their two granddaughters, who live on the East Coast.

The Parkers have two other “adopted” grandchildren who live in Spokane.

“They are ‘Papa’ and ‘Grammie’ to my children,” Connie Stuhr said in a letter to The Spokesman-Review.

Stuhr has known the Parkers for 20 years. They took her on as their daughter when she befriended their son in high school.

Photos of Stuhr’s two children and Stuhr and her husband grace the mantel and living room of the Parkers’ home. They speak of the boy and girl like extremely proud grandparents. Jan proudly displays a letter that their surrogate granddaughter wrote about them for a school project.

“God sent them to me at a time in my life when I really needed them. The Parkers are the parents I’ve always wanted. I will be so lucky to end up being one half of the people that they are,” Stuhr says over the phone.

“A true example of what neighbors should be” is how neighbor Paula Jones describes Joe and Jan Parker.

Jones purchased the home next door to the Parkers in 1983. The week she moved in, before the Parkers knew much about her, they offered her a gift.

“They were building a new garage, and they gave me their old one. They gave me a garage! Not only did they do that, but they also paid to put the concrete slab down and the moving expenses for the garage,” says Jones.

“They always put others’ needs first.”

“We’ve been treated like family,” Joe Parker says through his permanent smile as he tries to shrug off the compliment. “And we’ve tried to live the same way. Christ walks with me and my neighbors day by day. That’s all.”

When asked about advice on being a good neighbor, Joe Parker smiles and says, “You’ve got to kick open the gate and break the ice.”