12/19/2025
We mourn the passing of Dr. Joseph Balfour Parker, a beloved professor emeritus here at Southern Miss.
Dr. Parker passed away on Wednesday, December 17th at the age of 90.
A Celebration of Life will be held Monday, December 29th, at St. Fabian Catholic Church, with a visitation from 10-11:30am and a service to follow.
For 37 years at Southern Miss, Dr. Parker inspired students with his deep knowledge of politics, his legendary sense of humor and his genuine care for people.
His legacy lives on in the lives he shaped!
Dr. Parker’s official obituary is as follows:
“Celebration of Life for Dr. Joseph Parker set for Dec. 29 at St. Fabian Catholic Church
Beloved by generations of University of Southern Mississippi students for his wicked wit and wisdom, Dr. Joseph Balfour Parker was equally revered by news media seeking his expert political commentary and by politicians for his wise counsel on policy matters and campaign strategy.
A professor emeritus at Southern Miss, Dr. Parker died Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Asbury Hospice House in Hattiesburg at the age of 90. A Celebration of Life for Dr. Parker will be held Monday, Dec. 29, at Saint Fabian Catholic Church, beginning with visitation from 10-11:30 a.m. with a service to follow. Saint Fabian Pastor Father Tommy Conway and Father Godfrey Andoh will serve as concelebrants; Forrest Funeral Home in Hattiesburg is in charge of arrangements.
A native of Crowville, Louisiana, Dr. Parker’s early years were fraught with health scares, as he nearly died of whooping cough in infancy and then managed to stave off threats from measles and the bite of a rabid cat during childhood. With his health improved as a teen, he went on to become a stellar student and athlete at Crowville High, where he was president of his class, a member of its football and basketball teams, and an assistant editor for its yearbook staff, all while having to milk the family’s cow every morning before school.
Dr. Parker went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Louisiana State University before choosing to meet his military draft obligations with the U.S. Navy (he disdained the idea of marching in formation, a standard Army activity). After completing officer training school, he served on active duty aboard the USS Tripoli and USS Independence for three years, followed by 18 years in the Navy Reserves, retiring with the rank of commander. Testimony of his abilities by his superiors included this performance review in 1959 while serving on the USS Independence: “Recommended for promotion when due… has a sense of human understanding which exceeds that of the average officer of his grade and age.” After completing active-duty service with the Navy, he went on to earn his Ph.D. at Tulane University.
Following stints with the faculties at the University of New Orleans (UNO), Indiana University-South Bend, and Louisiana State University (LSU)-Shreveport, Dr. Parker joined the former USM Department of Political Science in 1975, retiring from the university in 2012 after 37 years and never taking a sick day. He taught undergraduate and graduate courses on state and local politics, Congressional politics, the U.S. Presidency, and World War II (for the USM British Studies Program), among many others. He loved his job because he loved helping his students.
In addition to his family and his work, Dr. Parker also loved animals, and animals loved him. Over the years, he reunited many lost dogs with their owners, helped feed the stray cat colony at USM for many years, and was instrumental in saving the lives of numerous sick and injured animals.
Current and former USM faculty members Billy Newman and Dr. Allan McBride remembers Dr. Parker as being widely appreciated by students and co-workers alike for his unfailing sense of humor, intelligence, and collegiality.
“He had a wonderful sense of humor and was so welcoming when I joined the faculty in the mid-1990s,” Dr. McBride, who served as department chair, said. “I remember when I came in to interview and asked him how long he had been at the university – he had already been on faculty at that point for about 20 years, I think – and he said, ‘Oh, since Jesus was a little boy.’
“He was a big favorite of our students, and a real character - and that’s saying something, because we had some real characters in our department. He was a great friend to me and will be missed by all who knew and loved him.”
Newman, who serves as coordinator of the USM School of Social Sciences and Global Studies’ Legal Studies Program, was not only a colleague of Dr. Parker’s but one of his former students. He said that, with the sole exception of his own father, “there is no man whom I admire more than Joe Parker.”
“As both his former student and a faculty colleague, I always marveled at his prodigious intellect and infectious sense of humor,” Newman recounted. “But more than anything, I admired his selfless interest in every person he encountered. Whenever you had a conversation with Joe Parker, he gave you his undivided attention and concern. I will miss that terribly.”
Two of Dr. Parker’s other former students, Johnny DuPree and Toby Barker, both went on to serve as mayor of Hattiesburg and in the Mississippi Legislature. They praised Dr. Parker as a valued mentor and teacher who helped shape their futures as public servants.
“Dr. Parker was a great educator not only in preparing students for what was required of them in the classroom, but also to become positive contributors in the communities where they would one day live and work after graduation,” State Senator DuPree said. “I often looked to him for advice on a wide variety of issues during my time in public office, and I will miss him and our conversations dearly. Johniece and I are keeping his family and friends in our prayers.”
Barker described Dr. Parker as “a masterful storyteller and teacher” and said his State and Local Politics class was one of the most impactful courses he took in his college experience.
“While staunch in his personal beliefs, he was always up for a spirited yet civil and often humorous exchange of ideas,” Mayor Barker said. “He embodied the best in a university professor – one who challenges students while accepting them as they were. He made our community and university better.”
Dr. Parker is survived by his wife of 59 years, Theresa Cosentino Parker; his children, Sandra Lynne Parker, Christopher Joseph Parker (Dianne), and Leslie Elaine Witt (Wendell); two grandchildren, Theo Parker and Livia Witt; a sister, Katie Parker Howard; a niece, Rebecca Sheiber; and a nephew, Brook Howard. He is predeceased by his parents, Jennie Osborne Parker and Balfour Paul Parker; a sister, Elizabeth Parker; and a nephew, Benjamin Howard.
In lieu of flowers, the Parker family requests that memorials to Dr. Parker be made to the Saint Fabian Catholic Church building fund, the Hub City Humane Society, Southern Pines Animal Shelter, the ASPCA, or to any animal support organization of one’s choice.”
