Parker Lucas Westbrook was born January 4, 1926, in Nashville, Howard County, Arkansas.
Westbrook graduated from Chillicothe Business College in Missouri . He became a court reporter for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Arkansas at eighteen before returning to Chillicothe Business College to teach .
Westbrook joined Boyd Tackett’s 1948 congressional campaign and ultimately s erved i n the administration of four Arkansas politicians , including Senator J. William Fulbrig ht and Governor David Pryor . Active in historic preservation, he has served on the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation, the Historic Arkansas Museum Board of Directors, the President’s Council for Histor ic Preservation , and many others . Westbrook championed legislation for the official spelling of “Arkansas’s , ” earning him the nickname “Mr. Apostrophe.”
Westbrook passed away on November 19, 2015.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Parker Westbrook and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Parker Westbrook at 4 years old, Nashville, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Parker Westbrook as a child, Nashville, Arkansas, ca. 1930s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Parker Westbrook with Jane Wojak, Washington, DC, ca. 1950s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Parker Westbrook with his poodle, Pat, Washington, DC, 1958
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Parker Westbrook
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Parker Westbrook (3rd from right) with Governor David Pryor (2nd from right), Gregory Peck (2nd from left), and other guests, Arkansas Governor's Mansion, Little Rock, Arkansas, ca. 1976
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Parker Westbrook and Nellie Longsworth, Arkansas Historic Preservation office, Little Rock, Arkansas, ca. 1970s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Parker Westbrook (center) with Skip Stewart-Abernathy (right), Governor's Conference Room, Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas, ca. 1970s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Parker Westbrook (left) with (l-r) Governor Frank White and Senator Jim Hill, Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1982
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Parker Westbrook, President Bill Clinton, and Harriett Fulbright at the William J. Clinton School of Public Service; the bronze and marble statue was a gift from Senator J. William Fulbright to Parker Westbrook, who later donated the statue to the Clinton School; Little Rock, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Parker Westbrook in the Westbrook family home, Nashville, Arkansas, 2005
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Parker Westbrook in the White-Bowers House, Washington, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Parker Westbrook in an ad for the last production year of his muscadine sherry, 2007
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: The Stephens House, ca. 1870s, en route from Blevins, Arkansas, to Washington, Arkansas, for restoration by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation under the direction of Parker Westbrook
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: The Royston Log House, ca. 1835, moved and restored by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation under the direction of Parker Westbrook, Washington, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Parker Westbrook's childhood home, Nashville, Arkansas, ca. 1960s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Crouch House, Washington, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Parker Westbrook; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Parker Westbrook; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Parker Westbrook; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Parker Westbrook; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Parker Westbrook; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Parker Westbrook; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
