Howard Miodrag Parker
October 17, 1949 – February 23, 2024
Howard Miodrag Parker, 74, of Sweet Home, peacefully passed away on February 23 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis. Howard was born October 17, 1949 in a unique way. His mother, Darinka Parker (Marinkovic), gave birth 19,000 feet above the Atlantic near the Shannon Airport, Ireland. She was on her way to join her husband, M-Sgt. James Parker, in Germany where he was stationed in Weisbaden. Some newspaper articles claimed Howard was the first child in history to be born on a trans-Atlantic airplane. Thus began the remarkable life of Howard Parker.
His mother was born in Yugoslavia and was an inmate at a Nazi concentration camp during the war. His father was in the military and after serving three tours overseas, was stationed stateside when Howard was a toddler. The family moved to California at that time. Howard often traveled to Europe to visit his relatives on his mother’s side.
He built computers for a living and was an avid reader and researcher. He spent many hours at the library in San Leandro, CA, where he lived. Howard moved to Sweet Home, in 2018. Howard never married or had children and moved to Oregon to be closer to friends.
He was preceeded in death by his father, James, in 1970 and mother, Darinka, in 1999. He is survived by many cousins throughout Europe and the United States. To those that knew him, he will be deeply missed.