John B. Parker, a longtime fixture in Southern California real estate, dies at 83
John B. Parker, a leader in the postwar transformation of Orange County real estate, has died. He was 83.
Parker, who opened the first Orange County office of real estate brokerage giant CB Richard Ellis in 1962, died of a stroke Nov. 24 at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.
Over the course of his 60-year career, Parker was responsible for the development of more than 10 million square feet of office space in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Among his notable projects was the 60-acre Summit Office Campus in Aliso Viejo.
Parker was born Sept. 13, 1927, in Beverly Hills. He graduated from Los Angeles High School, entered the Navy at age 17, and then enrolled at UCLA with the help of the GI Bill.
In 1951, he was hired by commercial real state firm Coldwell Banker — now known as CB Richard Ellis. He rose through the ranks to become president of Coldwell Banker Management Co.
His first client in Orange County was the Irvine Co., the region’s largest property owner.
“John was sent to the largely undeveloped Orange County to help the Irvine Co. fulfill its promise to build a new city around a new university,” said Ray Watson, former president of the Irvine Co.
Parker formed Parker Properties in 1976, and was joined by his son, Russ, in 1994. Parker’s son-in-law, Lee Redmond, is now chief executive.
Parker served as a mentor to hundreds of young people interested in the real estate business and was closely associated with the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management.
“Without John Parker, the Center for Real Estate at UCI would not exist,” said Andy Pelicano, dean of UC Irvine’s Graduate School of Management. “He was the catalyst that brought everyone together.”
In addition to his son, Parker’s survivors include his wife, Betty; two daughters, KC Redmond and Kerry Burnight; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Dec. 11 at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in San Juan Capistrano.
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