Retired city clerk Parker dies at 75

Betty Palmer Parker, retired Hartselle city clerk, died Tuesday afternoon at her home on South Sparkman Street. She was 75.

Ms. Parker had suffered from COPD for several years and had been on oxygen for the past couple of years, according to her son, Lee Parker.

She retired from the city June 1, 2000, after serving as city clerk for nearly 17 years. She joined the city’s administrative staff as an office employee Dec. 15, 1980, and was promoted to city clerk  Oct. 3, 1883. She served under five mayors, Don Brown, John. D. Long, Scotty Maples, Samie Wiley and Robert Stephenson.

Parker was remembered by Maples as “A very fine Christian lady who always had the interest and love of Hartselle at heart. “

“She gave me a lot of good advice when I took office and stayed on top of issues and matters pertaining to city government. She served the city well and will be greatly missed,” he added.

“She was a good employee,” said Stephenson, the last Mayor she served under. “She knew more about what was going on in the city than anyone else, and that’s what made her a very important part of city government.”

A 1953 graduate of the former Morgan County High School, Parker graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in business and served as director of volunteer services at the former Pineview Hospital in Hartselle. She was a longtime member of Hartselle First Baptist Church where she taught Sunday school classes for many years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lee and Lucille Palmer, who owned and operated a Western Auto Store in downtown Hartselle for many years, and a grandchild. She is survived by three sons, Lee, Kevin and Frank and their families.

Funeral arrangements were pending at Peck Funeral Home at press time.