Family, friends honor Fox 8 anchor Nancy Parker

26th August 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Mark Veals
Contributing Writer

A memorial service to celebrate the life and legacy of award-winning TV journalist Nancy Parker was held on August 23, 2019 at the Xavier University of Louisiana Convocation Center. Hundreds of regular viewers who tuned in to watch Parker during her 30 years as a local television reporter and anchor, gathered to pay their respects to her and her family. Local elected officials and community leaders addressed the public during the memorial with reflections on how Parker touched many lives and reported on important stories over her public career.

“She was just a one of a kind person and it’s the least I could do to pay honor and respect to her,” said Norman Robinson, former local television anchor, who served as master of ceremony at the memorial. “As John Snell (Parker’s co-anchor) said, what you saw of Nancy on the set, is what you saw of Nancy off the set,” Robinson added.

Parker died doing what she loved – reporting. On August 16, while covering the story of an African-American pilot and stuntman Franklin Augustus, Parker died in a plane crash near the Lakefront airport. Augustus, who was flying the plane, also died in the crash.

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, State Sen. Troy Carter, Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, and mayors and council members of the cities of New Orleans and Gretna, joined members of WVUE Fox 8 for the home-going tribute. Archbishop of New Orleans Gregory Aymond also gave his blessings at the memorial.

The state of Louisiana awarded Parker their highest honor for her service and love for the state on behalf of the governor who was unable to attend the memorial. The city council of New Orleans also gave the family a proclamation honoring her life.

“New Orleans did not just lose an amazing journalist or a familiar face on our television screens, we lost a loving mother, a beautiful human being, an invaluable member of our community,” said New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.

Members of the local media community, her colleagues and New Orleans residents who attended the event shared their own experiences with Parker as she supported many programs, organizations and institutions.

“Nancy Parker was Fox 8,” said Mikel Schaefer, the news director at Fox 8. “When she walked in the room, newsroom –any room, it was an explosion of light and color, ribbons and glitter, she was our multicolored rainbow and she held us inside of it, like a warm blanket on a cold midcity night. She was the light that guided all of us every single day.”

At Xavier University, Parker gave her time to mentor students and support young, upcoming media professionals, who looked up to her as a role model.

“Nancy was special. Always smiling, always happy. She was the consummate professional,” said Varion Laurent, the director of Student Media at Xavier who recalled the start of his own professional career at Fox 8, alongside Parker.

“I saw her two days before this incident and the first thing she said before I could get a word out was ‘Hey V! How’s those babies?’ Family meant everything to her. My most sincere condolences go to her family. I looked at my wife and kids and welled up. I cannot imagine ever going through something like this; my thoughts and prayers are with her family.”

Parker was an advocate for New Orleans and much of her reporting before and after Hurricane Katrina reminded audiences of the importance of this city to the country.

“Nancy Parker Boyd exuded warmth and had a talent for bringing people and their stories to life on camera. She was a pillar of professionalism in New Orleans’ media industry, who poured her very essence into her stories,” said Patrice Bell Mercadel, Xavier’s chief of staff, who was a close friend.

“Being colleagues on opposite sides of the microphone for thirty years with Nancy, I cherished every moment I shared with her. Xavier University of Louisiana is honored that it was Nancy who went to Rome in 2000 to report on the canonization of our foundress, St. Katharine Drexel. Our Xavier community gives our prayers and deepest condolences to her family. We all loved her so dearly.”

The St. Peter Claver choir also paid a musical tribute to Parker along with the 24th national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Cynthia Butler-McIntyre. Her husband, Glen Boyd, delivered a moving eulogy.

Many people who knew Parker felt a strong connection to her because of her personality and many shared their personal tributes at a memorial set up in front of Fox 8 on South Jeff Davis Parkway.

Parker, an Opelika, Ala. native, is survived by her husband Glen Boyd and her three children, Parker Coleman Boyd, Piper Harris Boyd, and Pierce Howard Boyd.

This article originally published in the August 26, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.