Alison Parker Tribute: 5 Things To Know About Slain Reporter
As Alison Parker tribute posts are starting to fill up the slain Roanoke reporter’s Facebook and Twitter pages, it’s a proper time to look back on who this young woman was and the full but short life that she lived. Parker and videographer Adam Ward, 27, were callously gunned down during an on-air interview earlier this morning, and the entire horrifying thing played out in front of the thousands, who tuned into Parker’s reporting almost every day.
What makes the incident even more tragic are the things and people these two co-workers left behind. She had just moved in with colleague and fellow journalist Chris Hurst, who WDBJ on-air personnel say was understandably “devastated” by the unexpected tragedy. Ward also had a fiancee.
A look at Parker’s Facebook page shows a young woman with the entire world ahead of her.
Just yesterday she re-shared a swimming cat video with the description, “Years later, this still manages to pop up as one of our top videos every now and then… It gets me every time!!”
She was a woman who took a childlike wonder in the stories that she reported, and that plays out in her posts. Here are five more things you should know about this slain reporter.
1. She returned on August 23 after having just completed a vacation to North Carolina’s Nantahala River. She was “with friends and family for some birthday fun and time off” and planned to be back to the anchor desk on Saturday.
2. She was, at one time, a little princess, according to her parents, who took this photograph of her as a little girl wearing a tiara. Parker liked sharing the occasional personal remembrance with her followers, bringing them a little more into her life.
Unfortunately, where once there were feel-good comments on this photo, it has become an Alison Parker Tribute page in and of itself, with commenters expressing their condolences and one woman stating, “I never met you, but seeing this photo of you as a kid makes me feel sad. Life throws so many surprises at us. Rest in peace and my prayers go out to your family and friends.”
3. She was a very supportive colleague, being the first to come to a colleague with food and condolences when her father died and sharing the successes of her colleagues, like in this photo.
4. She was supportive of her community and the youth in it.
Congrats to all of the graduates at @virginia_tech and @VirginiaWestern! Throwback to my graduation! ? pic.twitter.com/drD0q0mSo7
— Alison Parker (@AParkerWDBJ7) May 15, 2015
5. Parker and Adam Ward were more than just colleagues. They were good friends.
.@AParkerWDBJ7 and photog Adam Ward are about to go live at #APX150th! pic.twitter.com/gdfMUKmt6v
— WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) April 9, 2015
If you would like to view more of the Alison Parker tribute posts, follow this link to her Twitter.
[Images via Facebook, linked above]
