Madison Alden Parker II of Lehi, Utah – beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend to so many – passed away of natural causes after a brief illness in the home of his son and daughter-in-law, John and Debra Parker.
Madison was born on August 21, 1942, in Nashua, New Hampshire. His family moved to Ontario, Canada, and due to his mother's illness, Madison and his siblings were placed in an orphanage and then foster care. When his parents moved back to New Hampshire, the children were sent to New Hampshire and placed in foster care. Madison and his sister Ann lived with a wonderful family, John and Dorothy Crown, and their two children, John and Joan, for 12 years. The Crowns owned a farm where Madison grew up and loved raising his nine goats.
After graduating from Wilton High School in 1960, Madison enlisted in the United States Navy and was later honorably discharged due to an injury he sustained in boot camp. After the Navy, Madison worked for Hitchiner Manufacturing in New Hampshire and later decided to move to California. He drove there in a 1955 Dodge Coronet in search of warmer weather.
Madison ended up in Montebello, California, where he briefly joined the Southern Baptist Church and met a friend who said, "Go to the Saturday night dance at the Mormon Church." Madison attended one of the dances, where he first met stake missionary Ruth Marie Gwynn, who taught him about the gospel. He was then baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on February 22, 1963.
A year later, Madison served a two-year mission for the LDS Church in the Eastern States Mission. There, he acted as a guide in the Mormon Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. Soon after he returned home from his mission, he married his sweetheart, Ruth, on September 24, 1966, in the Los Angeles Temple.
They moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. Madison worked as a corrections officer at Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah, while completing his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. While attending BYU, they adopted their daughter Melanie at birth and adopted their first son Madison 1 1/2 years later. Then they gave birth to their firstborn child Leia, followed by Michael, Johnny, Matthew, Mark, Scott, Tyler, and Travis. They also had a full-term, stillborn son, David.
After graduation, Madison worked in a management training program at Kmart stores in Salt Lake City, then Buena Park and Chula Vista, California. Madison and his family then moved to Orange County, California, where he worked for a financial planner who taught him to prepare taxes and do bookkeeping.
Madison developed his own successful accounting and tax business in Fullerton, California, supporting his and Ruth's ten children. The family bought a new home in Rancho Cucamonga and later moved back to Utah to be closer to Ruth's family. There, Madison built up another tax and accounting business in Orem, Utah.
Madison served as a president of Rotary clubs in California and Utah. He also served as an ordinance worker in four LDS temples.
Throughout his adult life, Madison donated gallons of blood – including for LDS Church President Spencer Kimball. Whenever his children would ask how he was doing, Madison would repeat his motto: "I'm like my blood type: Be positive."
Madison and Ruth later moved from Orem to Kaysville, Utah, to be caretakers for Ruth’s sister Joan and brother-in-law Jerry Means until both passed away.
Then, Madison and Ruth moved to Lehi, Utah, to live with their son John and daughter-in-law Debra. Madison loved all his children and was a fun loving, patient father with an undying sense of humor. Madison was delighted by all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Madison is survived by his wife of 56 years, Ruth Parker, his brother Kenelm (Mary), sister Ann (Robert) Malik and sister Alice (Richard) Moulton, his foster sister Joan Martin, Madison’s daughter Melanie Duran, his son Madison (Kesha), daughter Leia, son Michael (Tiffany), son John (Debra), son Matthew (Cathy), son Mark, son Scott (Jasmine), son Tyler, son Travis (Tiffany), 18 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Madison is preceded in death by parents Donald Parker, Wildie Parker, sister Gertrude, foster parents Dorothy and John Crown, and foster brother John Jr.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 30, 2023, at 11:00 am at the LDS Chapel on 500 S. Main St in Kaysville, Utah. There will be a viewing at the church before the services from 9:45 - 10:45 am. Graveside services will be held at the Kaysville City Cemetery.
Services will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page. The live stream will begin about 10-15 minutes prior to the services and will also be posted below.
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