T. Parker Host, 70, Leader Of State Maritime Group

NEWPORT NEWS - T. Parker Host, 70, of 107 Riverside Drive, former Newport News mayor and a state maritime leader, died Friday in his home. He had been ill for some time. He was mayor from 1940 to 1942, when he resigned to enter the Army Air Corps. Before election as mayor he had been vice mayor four years. He was a Newport News native. He was a former vice president of Hampton Roads Maritime Association and a member of its board at the time of his death. He was an original commissioner of the State Port Authority of Virginia, pre-World War II pre- of the State Port Authority of Ports Authority. He attended Newport News schools and the University of Virginia before he founded the steamship agency that bears his name. His son, T. Parker Host Jr., is one of the agency's top executives. The T. Parker Host Agency was founded in 1925 at the same time that Mr. Host became president of Tidewater Steverdoring Corp. Its headquarters is in Newport News but it has maintained a Norfolk office for some years. Last year the office initiated a full-time staff. Host was a Newport News booster but one of its severest critics, too. He often pointed with pride to Norfolk accomplishments. "I feel like it's all of Hampton Roads that's my home," he once said. His father, Lewis Clinton Host, was a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway employe. Host was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Virginia Club of Norfolk, James River Country Club and Newport News Propeller Club. He was one of the early pilots of the Army Air Service during World War I in France and Germany. During World War II he entered the Air Corps as a major and was assigned to bases in the United States and North Africa. He was discharged as a lieutenant colonel after 3 1/2 years of active duty. Besides his son, surviving are his wife, Mrs. Jane Shearer Host; a daughter, Mrs. Edwin Axton Jr. of Louisville, Ky.; a brother, Lewis C. Host of Newport News; a sister, Mrs. Virginia Shackleford of Newport News; and five grandchildren. A funeral service will be held today at 2 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church by the Rev. Dr. Paul Buckles. Burial will be in Peninsula Memorial Cemetery. The family has requested that flowers be omitted.

Published in The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia) on Sunday December 9, 1962

T. Parker Host, 70, Leader Of State Maritime Group

NEWPORT NEWS - T. Parker Host, 70, of 107 Riverside Drive, former Newport News mayor and a state maritime leader, died Friday in his home. He had been ill for some time. He was mayor from 1940 to 1942, when he resigned to enter the Army Air Corps. Before election as mayor he had been vice mayor four years. He was a Newport News native. He was a former vice president of Hampton Roads Maritime Association and a member of its board at the time of his death. He was an original commissioner of the State Port Authority of Virginia, pre-World War II pre- of the State Port Authority of Ports Authority. He attended Newport News schools and the University of Virginia before he founded the steamship agency that bears his name. His son, T. Parker Host Jr., is one of the agency's top executives. The T. Parker Host Agency was founded in 1925 at the same time that Mr. Host became president of Tidewater Steverdoring Corp. Its headquarters is in Newport News but it has maintained a Norfolk office for some years. Last year the office initiated a full-time staff. Host was a Newport News booster but one of its severest critics, too. He often pointed with pride to Norfolk accomplishments. "I feel like it's all of Hampton Roads that's my home," he once said. His father, Lewis Clinton Host, was a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway employe. Host was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Virginia Club of Norfolk, James River Country Club and Newport News Propeller Club. He was one of the early pilots of the Army Air Service during World War I in France and Germany. During World War II he entered the Air Corps as a major and was assigned to bases in the United States and North Africa. He was discharged as a lieutenant colonel after 3 1/2 years of active duty. Besides his son, surviving are his wife, Mrs. Jane Shearer Host; a daughter, Mrs. Edwin Axton Jr. of Louisville, Ky.; a brother, Lewis C. Host of Newport News; a sister, Mrs. Virginia Shackleford of Newport News; and five grandchildren. A funeral service will be held today at 2 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church by the Rev. Dr. Paul Buckles. Burial will be in Peninsula Memorial Cemetery. The family has requested that flowers be omitted.

Published in The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia) on Sunday December 9, 1962