In Loving Memory of Parker Dale

Parker Dale, 94, passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 22, 2023, in Newport Beach, California. He was born at home to Clarence and Marjorie Dale on February 24, 1929 in Beverly Hills, and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he attended LA High School, Claremont Men’s College, and graduated from the University of Southern California.

Parker met his wife of 55 years, Patty Gary, of Pasadena, while both were vacationing in Newport Harbor as teenagers. They were inseparable from the start, and were usually referred to simply as ‘Patty & Parker’. They married in 1952, and had two sons, Parker David and Michael, in Los Angeles, before moving to Newport Beach in 1957. Daughters Devon and Meghan quickly followed, and the family spent years enjoying every aspect of beach and boat life.

Parker would call Newport Beach ‘home’ for the rest of his life. Patty passed in 2007, with Parker, as always, by her side.

Parker spent the majority of his career in the world of finance. Born in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression, the irony was not lost on him. Perhaps it was fate. In high school he showed strong artistic and painting potential, and was encouraged to pursue it in college, but he felt he needed greater financial security, so pursued a degree in accounting and finance

He entered the securities industry at Paine Webber, in the 1960s managed the Los Angeles office of Hayden Stone, and at the end of the decade moved his young family to New York City for two years to manage their trust department. During this time, he was an early proponent in the field of Modern Capital Theory. He returned to California in 1970 as Director of Marketing for Morgan, Olmstead, Kennedy and Gardiner.

Always dreaming of a family business, in 1978 he founded the investment banking firm of Daleco Securities along with his two sons. The firm pioneered the funding of advanced tech and ultimately went public as International Daleco Corporation. But without question, his greatest business passion coalesced in the mid 1990s, when the family decided to concentrate their activities on a revolutionary water chemistry. Today, the entity known as Bio-Organic Catalyst, Inc. is active around the world in transforming water treatment and environmental management.

A whole new chapter began ten years ago when Parker happily married life-long friend, Mary Amundson. They enjoyed their years together living in Beacon Bay, and spending many weekends on their boat, Liberty. Parker was an avid boater, and an active member for over 50 years of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club (NHYC). Both he and Mary were very involved in the community of the club, raised their families, and participated in the boating scene over many decades, both in Newport Harbor and at Moonstone Cove on Catalina Island.

Parker is survived by his wife, Mary Dale, three of his children, Parker David Dale; Devon (Bob) Googins; and Meghan (Anthony) Paduano, fifteen grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. His son Michael (Lisa) Dale, preceded him in death in 2002.

Parker epitomized everything that his generation stood for: love of family, commitment to hard work, and fierce loyalty to his country. He was always elegant, and liked to dress for the occasion. Start the music, and he was the first on the dance floor. Sometimes intimidating, he reveled in sharing his views on politics, the economy, boats—on almost any topic really—he was knowledgeable on many subjects and really enjoyed a lively debate.

He was the undeniable patriarch of his beloved family, and set an example of decency to which his children, grand, and great grandchildren aspire. And he was truly a man who loved being on the water, on his boat, Liberty, which he called, ‘the best spot in the world’.