His mother Una Parker took her baby boy to the Sydney Royal Easter Show where she tended the Southern District Exhibit.

Later she would receive a British Empire Medal for her services to the people of Crookwell in the Goulburn region.

Eric Parker emulated his mother's achievements across his lifetime spent in Crookwell and Dubbo.

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At the time of his death in December 2020, he had been awarded an Order of Australia Medal and life membership of five organisations.

They are the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of NSW, Western District Exhibit of which he was also patron, Dubbo Show Society, Dubbo Harness Racing Club and Crookwell Apex Club.

Mourners at Mr Parker's funeral at Dubbo's Holy Trinity Anglican Church learned the family's "roots ran deep" in the Crookwell district where a young Eric showed he was a team player on and off the field.

At the age of 14 he was a member of a Junior Farmers debating team which took out a state title, prompting high praise from the town's NSW Country Women's Association branch president.

"We are very proud of the three lads who have placed Crookwell on the map," she said.

A sporting all-rounder, Mr Parker followed his parents onto the hockey field in Crookwell and stood shoulder to shoulder with his father Bill Parker in the town's 1949 grand final.

His hockey skills got him into NSW junior and senior teams.

"The pinnacle of his career was being selected in the hockey training squad for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics," granddaughter Kayla Kopp told mourners.

Eric Parker won a scholarship to attend Hawkesbury Agricultural College after which he worked at Crookwell Shire Council first as rates clerk then as pay clerk and works cost clerk.

"He took pride in having never touched a computer and could still count backwards from 100 by seven until well into his eighties," his granddaughter said.

In 1958 he put a ring on the finger of Crookwell newcomer Marie Hawkins and set about making a home for them complete with flower and vegetable gardens.

His "girls", Sandra and Barbara, were born in 1960 and 1966.

Mr Parker's heart belonged to his family but his mind was often focused on the needs of the community.

He contributed to the Crookwell Agricultural Pastoral and Horticultural Society as treasurer and then secretary for more than 10 years, and was instrumental in the relaunching of the town's rodeo.

As a member of Crookwell Apex Club, Mr Parker rolled up his sleeves for worthy community projects.

In 1975 he experienced a "twist of fate" when manning a radio during a bushfire emergency.

"To keep himself awake, Granddad read the newspaper and he saw an advertisement for the job of show secretary and manager at Dubbo," Kayla said.

"He wrote out the application and said he promptly forgot about the whole thing until he received a telephone call asking him to attend an interview."

Crookwell's loss was Dubbo's gain.

Mr Parker was a hardworking show secretary and manager for 21 years during which Dubbo Showground got a new lease of life through new infrastructure including a stock pavilion, cattle shed, amenities block and expo centre.

Mr Parker relinquished his ties with the Southern District Exhibit when he moved to Dubbo where he served the Western District Exhibit as secretary/treasurer for more than 20 years.

"Eric had good social and journalistic skills and meticulous record-keeping abilities," a former exhibit manager Robert Dreves wrote in a tribute.

"I recall a particular situation where Eric's diplomatic and social skills came to the fore resolving issues with the RAS hierarchy."

In his 45 years in Dubbo, Mr Parker was also gatekeeper and secretary for the Dubbo Harness Racing Club for which he made sure a new track was "funded and completed".

His interest in cattle led him to be secretary of the Dubbo National Shorthorn Show and Sale committee.

An avid gardener and reader of newspapers, Mr Parker also enjoyed playing bowls at Macquarie Bowling Club and being its secretary.

"When the club became involved in the establishment of Bracken House..he volunteered his services as payroll officer," daughter Sandra Parker told mourners.

Eric Parker's ability to "lend a hand and make a difference" benefitted the community and his family including grandson Cameron Kopp who spent many happy hours with his grandfather.

"I love you so much Granddad and I hope you are proud of me because I'm so proud to call you my grandad and my best mate," Cameron said at the funeral.

Daughter Barbara Kopp said her father was her "rock".

"If you needed someone to throw a ball, help with homework, clean your shoes, give you time out from an irritable baby, he was always there," she said.

Mr Parker's wife passed away in 2013. In 2018 he began "sharing his time" living with daughter Barbara in Peak Hill and Sandra in Bathurst.

"A better helper you couldn't find," Barbara said.

Mr Parker, 88, died on December 22 at the Peak Hill Multi-Purpose Service, close to his beloved family.

"It was a privilege to love and be loved by him," Barbara said.