[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1458]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING ROBERT E. ``ROY'' PARKE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 15, 2008

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Robert E. ``Roy'' 
Parke, who was taken from us on June 5, 2008, at 87 years of age. The 
man many called Florida's strawberry king and founder of Parkesdale 
Farms in Dover, Florida, is remembered as a driving force in Florida's 
strawberry industry.
  A native of Northern Ireland, Roy Parke and his family migrated to 
the United States when he was 5. He attended a one-room school in 
Pennsylvania, and then served his country in World War II as a sergeant 
in the 63rd Infantry Division. He founded R.E. Parke & Sons in 1957 
with money from a G.I. Bill of Rights loan. Today, the operation has 
more than 500 acres of berries and vegetables. Roy pioneered the first 
successful overseas air shipment of strawberries to Europe in 1963, and 
he was the first to protect strawberries with overhead irrigation. In 
1983, Roy was the first inductee into the Florida Strawberry Hall of 
Fame and was a vocal proponent of the state's strawberry industry.
  Roy was someone who I have admired and respected for many years. He 
was not only a renowned success in his business endeavors, but he was 
also a prominent leader in his diverse volunteer efforts. The 
communities of Dover and Plant City will forever bear his imprint and 
the memory of the ``Strawberry King'' will surely be eternal.
  Madam Speaker, my heart aches for Roy's family. He is survived by his 
wife, Helen; daughters Cheryl Meeks, Sandee Sytsma and Colleen Fulton; 
sons Bobby Parke and Gary Parke; and numerous nieces, nephews, 
grandchildren and great-grandchildren. May God bless the Parke family. 
We shall never forget Roy.

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