John W. Parker, The Flying Sheriff

A newspaper article in the November 18, 1930 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal, reported on Sheriff John W. Parker’s flight from Sandusky to the State Penitentiary. On November 17 Sheriff Parker transported two prisoners from Erie County to the penitentiary aboard a Stinson four passenger airplane. John W. Parker served as Erie County Sheriff from 1928 to 1932.  While he was still the sheriff-elect, Parker stated that he would only use one of his planes when it was deemed necessary in the line of duty in the Sheriff’s office. In 1924, John W. Parker and his brother Lucius G. “Lute” Parker started an airplane club in Sandusky. They started a flying school in 1928, and they were instrumental in starting Sandusky’s first airport. From the 1950s through the 1970s, John W. Parker was the Commandant of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home, now known as the Ohio Veterans Home. John W. Parker died on December 7, 1987. He was a veteran of both World War I and World War II. Mr. Parker was survived by his wife, three daughters, a son, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. To learn more about Erie County’s elected officials, see Patty Pascoe’s book, Elected to Serve, available at the Sandusky Library.