Chester “Chet” R. Parker of No. Bridgton died peacefully on Friday, Jan. 21 at Schooner Estates, Auburn, Maine. He was 95.

The son of Edgar Parker and Pearl Townsend Parker Smith and stepson of George Smith, “Chet” was born in Saugus, Mass. on May 12, 1915. He graduated from Bates College in 1939 and received his Master Degree in Education at Boston University.

His career as an educator spanned almost forty years as he served as teacher, principal, and Superintendent of Schools in over a dozen towns and school districts throughout the State of Maine. He was an early proponent of school consolidation and his innovative leadership was instrumental in the formation of School Administrative Districts in Buxton (MSAD 6), Bridgton (MSAD 61), and Lincoln (MSAD 67).

He was a respected leader in the community, volunteering his time and energy to many causes. For over twenty years he was a member of the Bridgton Appeals Board and the Harrison/North Bridgton Water District. He served as State President of the Maine Parents Teachers Association and was a former president of Maine’s Prevention of Blindness Program. A Life Member of the Lions, he was former King Lion of the Bridgton Lions Club, and former Cabinet Secretary/Treasurer of the District 41L Lions.

An active sportsman, he skied into his seventies and played tennis into his eighties. His lifelong love of sailing included many years of participating in Friendship Sloop races, cruises on his son’s sailboat in the Mediterranean, and sailing trips with his daughter and family in the Caribbean.

He and his wife traveled extensively throughout North America and Europe; making lifelong friendships with people from all over the world. At home, his warm wit and easy company made his kitchen table a welcome interlude for friends and neighbors throughout the years.

He is survived by his wife of sixty-nine years, Eleanor Smart Parker, his daughter, and her husband, Lynn and John Schiavi of Hale’s Location, N.H. and Naples, Fla., his son, C. Randolph Parker of No. Bridgton, two grandchildren, Deborah Schiavi Cote and her husband Paul of Auburn, and Katherine Schiavi Melioris and her husband Todd of Atlanta, Ga., five great-grandchildren, Nicholas and Michael Cote, and Evan, Ella Pearl and Bryson Melioris, and his sister, Marion Gibbs of Laconia, N.H.

A memorial service will be held at the United Parish Congregational Church of Harrison and North Bridgton, 77 Main Street, Harrison, Maine, at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Bridgton High School Scholarship Foundation, 132 Main Street, Bridgton, ME 04009, or the Bates College Fund, 2 Andrews Road, Lewiston, ME 04240