BY SCHUYLER KROPF
The Post and Courier, www.Charleston.net
GOOSE CREEK - Canada has only 35 Christian music stations, but chances are that at any given time you'd hear Warren Parker's music playing on at least one of them.
Two days after he was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident here, Canadian music enthusiasts were mourning the loss of an award-winning gospel musician who had taken his successful ministry south to the United States.
Parker, 34, was struck and killed late Saturday by a driver in a pickup truck while trying to guide his group's tour bus into the tiny parking lot of the Calvary Church of the Nazarene.
A 34-year-old male suspect is expected to turn himself in to authorities today for a Berkeley County bond court appearance, Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings said Monday.
Charges are still being drafted, and the man has hired an attorney.
Canadian music industry leaders say condolences are coming in from as far away as Korea for the man who was a founding member of the Parker Trio.
"In Canada, they were quite well- known," said Gary Dix, president of the Canadian Gospel Music Association. "Group of the year, song of the year. ... In the Canadian Christian music scene, they would have been considered one of the top groups. It's a big loss."
Parker's group was scheduled to perform Sunday morning at the church on Red Bank Road. He was directing traffic while bus driver Brandt White, who is the band's sound engineer, backed the 40-foot bus. Parker was pinned in the collision and died at the scene.
After the accident, the pickup driver, who was bleeding from his forehead, walked away, leaving his truck behind for authorities to seize.
Witnesses said the bus and the area were well lighted at the time of the collision.
Parker's wife, Shannan, of Ohio, who is also a singer in the group, said she was thrown from her bunk by the force of the impact.
"It was a mess inside," she said Monday before leaving for Nashville, Tenn., where the band is now based. The group's business operations are still being run out of Ontario. The rest of the tour has been canceled, according to the group's Web site.
Warren and Shannan Parker met about 10 years ago while performing in separate Christian-themed bands that were playing at the same church.
Joining forces in music "wasn't planned," she said. "The Lord just kept opening doors."
The couple had no children.
Parker said her husband was filled with religious spirit and he never wore down through a schedule of more than 260 days a year on the road, visiting churches, prisons and drug rehabilitation centers.
"He wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed in," she said.
Finding his way as a gospel musician was a long-distance journey for Parker. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and drifted toward faith-based music by the time he was 7, playing organ and, later, the piano. He was 10 when his family moved to Canada.
He helped form the Parker Trio in 1997, with his wife and the group's third member, Angie White.
In Canada, the group won wide acclaim. In 2005, the band was given a Covenant Award from the CGMA for Southern Gospel Album of the Year for their "Live In Havana" (Illinois) recording. Songs include "Tearin' Down The Walls," "Open Those Pearly Gates" and "I Wanna Walk Like Him."
Shannan Parker said her husband was a natural musician. He also played guitar and harmonica and could play just about anything in a few days, she said.
Dix, who considered Parker a friend, said the band was well-known north of the U.S. border.
"They were established. They had been around for several years."
He added, "They had sort of a wide appeal. It just wasn't the young people who would follow them. It was older, too."
Funeral arrangements are being handled by McEachnie Funeral Home, 28 Old Kingston Road, Pickering Village, Ajax, Ontario, (905) 428-8488. Donations can be made to Parker Outreach International, P.O. Box 296, Pickering, Ontario L1V 2R4.
On the Net
The band's Web site is www.parkertrio.com, where this biography was found:
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 16, 1971, Warren accepted the Lord into his life at age six and began in music at the age of seven. He began to study organ and music theory at eight years old. In 1982 at the age of ten, his family immigrated to Canada and Warren decided to go along with them (mainly because he was 10 and you really don't have a whole lot of choices at that age). He then switched from the organ to the piano. He studied conservatory music up until he graduated high school and began playing frequently in his home church. Warren always had a heart for missions and has been blessed to travel all throughout various countries of the world singing and playing on mission’s teams. However, he could never imagine the plan that God had for his life…now he looks back and sees the big picture. After graduating from high school, Warren had the opportunity to go on a 6-month missions trip to Belize, Central America with four other guys. There he was actively involved in music with the church in southern Belize as well as leading the youth in sports programs and clearing several miles of dense jungle with machetes. While there he along with the other guys lived in a jungle hut with no running water or electricity. The fact of no electricity didn’t stop Warren from bringing his keyboard with him to the jungle. There was a generator…thank the Lord!!! Upon returning from Belize, Warren developed some serious health problems and a series of tests were done. At the same time, he had been accepted into University to study Criminology. Just weeks prior to leaving home to go off to school, Warren collapsed and went into a lengthy grand mal seizure. After further tests, Warren was advised by his specialist not to attend University due to the distance from home and the ongoing tests he would have to go through. He was devastated and really questioned why God would allow these things to happen. Furthermore, due to the seriousness of the seizure, the DMV (department of motor vehicles) suspended his license for one year. Warren continued to hold onto God’s promises for his life and decided to enroll in a local community college and study law enforcement. From doing this and staying at home, Warren was introduced to Southern Gospel music through a friend he had met while returning from Belize. Warren began to travel with this part-time group from Ontario, Canada for 4 years. Through traveling with this group, Warren met his future wife, Shannan, one night at church where they were booked together. After several months Warren and Shannan lost contact due to distance (Toronto to Ohio) and went their separate ways. In 1995, Warren got the opportunity to audition with a group from South Carolina to go full-time. Warren went for the interview and started two weeks later. Through traveling with this group something amazing happened. Warren and Shannan got back in touch again. After traveling with this group for a year and a half, Warren asked Shannan to marry him and moved to Ohio where they were married on July 27, 1996. About seven months after the wedding, Warren and Shannan both felt the call on their lives to go back on the road in full-time ministry. They obeyed the Call and God has used them to lead thousands of people to Christ over the years.
In 1996, Warren released his first solo piano project titled, GOODBYE WORLD GOODBYE. Currently he is working on his second piano project, due to be released in 2006.
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