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 served in the administration of four Arkansas politicians, including Senator J. William Fulbright 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 Historic 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
