Story Ends on Note of Sorrow : ‘Generous Guy’ Helps Viet Veterans

Mike Parker, who friends say never served in the military, apparently felt that he should do something for those who have worn the uniform.

When Los Angeles radio station KSLX held a two-day, on-the-air ticket raffle last weekend for today’s Doobie Brothers’ benefit concert for Vietnam veterans, Parker’s $5,045 bid was the highest for a pair of tickets, which were combined with other donated prizes to spur interest.

Not only did Parker’s bid far exceed the market value of his winnings--two $50 tickets and a $1,300, one-carat diamond ring--but station officials were startled by Parker’s ideas about delivery of his winnings.

“He said give (the tickets) to some vets and give the ring to Shana,” one of the station’s disc jockeys, station promotion director Nancy Robbins recalled.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Robbins said. “He’s an incredible person. He didn’t want anything. . . . He’s a very generous guy.”

Parker, who owns Parker North American, a Newport Beach business machine leasing company, wouldn’t even take the ring because, he reasoned, his wife Cindy already has enough rings. The auction was a success for KSLX, which raised $63,000 for the Vietnam Veterans’ Aid Foundation, a nonprofit organization, Robbins said.

Parker apparently was acting entirely in character by donating money and refusing the tickets and ring, according to his secretary, Diane Clayton. “He’s very generous with the Boy Scouts” and other charitable organizations, she said.

Other bidders who won concert tickets have claimed them, KSLX’s Robbins said. “(Parker’s) the only one who said: ‘Just give my tickets to a veteran,’ ” Robbins said.

Parker could not be reached Friday.

His mother, Marguerite Parker, died Thursday night, Clayton said.