History & Staff

Richard Parker, Owner/Operator

Richard Parker has been the Owner and Operator of Brunswick Memorial Park since 1986 when he purchased the cemetery, 9 years later he built what is now known as Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home. In addition, he owns the Chapel Park Cemetery and Oglethorpe Memorial Gardens, which he purchased in 2004. In 2005 he built the crematory at Brunswick Memorial Park and opened the Golden Isles Cremation Center to complete the Parker Family Company. For over 18 years, Mr. Parker has passionately served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Cemetery Association and formerly held the title of President. He is currently the Vice President of the Georgia State Cemetery Board and has twice served as the President in the past.

Family is extremely important to Mr. Parker and he employs his wife of 43 years, Arlene, his daughter Candice Jones and his grandson Cale Thorpe honorably serves as a Junior Funeral Assistant.

Richard not only enjoys working with his family, but values spending every moment possible with them. He enthusiastically supports his grandson in his Motocross endeavors, spending most afternoons and almost every weekend driving Cale and his bike to tracks all over Georgia and Florida.

Arlene Parker, Administrative Assistant

Brad Whiddon, Funeral Director - Manager

Brad Whiddon is a Funeral Director and Family Service Counselor for Brunswick Memorial Park & Funeral Home. He has been a part of the Brunswick Memorial Park family since 2002, but has been in the aftercare business for over 32 years. Brad graduated from Gumpton-Jones College of Funeral Services in 1989 and has been dedicated to taking care of families in their greatest time of need since then.

Brad shares his life with his wife of 24 years, Donna, on their farm in Camden County. He enjoys taking care of the farm whenever he can spare the time, since he is also a busy father of three grown children and two beautiful grandchildren.

Candice Parker Jones, Administrative Director

Candice Parker Jones was born in Atlanta, but has lived in Brunswick since she was 5 years old. She is a true member of the Brunswick Memorial Park family, as she is the daughter of Richard Parker, the owner of the Parker Family Company. Candice started working in the funeral home back in high school as a part of a work study program but has been an official employee since 2001.

Candice is married to Kevin Jones, who has served Glynn County as a police officer for the past 20 years. She is also a dedicated mother to her son, Cale, and the family spends as much time as they can Motocross Racing. When Candice is not in the office she can be found on the side of a dirt track watching Kevin and Cale compete.

Felicia Lee Staat, Funeral Director

Felicia Staat is a 2011 Summa Cum Laude graduate of the Funeral Service Program of Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, VA. She joined Carter Funeral Home in 2011 as an apprentice and in 2013 became a licensed Funeral Director. In 2016, Felicia joined Brunswick Memorial Park Funeral Home and Golden Isles Cremation Center. She works with the other Funeral Directors and Office staff to assist families in making final arrangements during one of life's most difficult times.
Felicia is married to Chris Young and they share 5 children and 5 grandchildren. In her off time she likes to travel to near-by cities to explore, listen to good music, preferably live, and she also likes to enjoy a great glass of wine every once and awhile.

Melody Clifton, Preneed Counselor and Insurance Agent, Funeral Director and Embalmer Apprentice

Melody was born in Elizabeth City, NC, and graduated from East Carolina University in 1988 with a BBA. She began working for Lowe's when she was a senior in high school. After retiring from Lowe's (Commercial Credit Manager), she went to work as a Corporate Credit Manager for another company, then worked as a mortgage loan officer for several years before getting into the Funeral Home business seven years ago.
Surprisingly, Melody found that she loved working in the Funeral Home and felt that she may have found her calling helping people during some of the most difficult times. It also made her see the importance of Pre-Arranging and she is so glad that that is her main job here.
If you know Melody, you already know she loves her some Carson, her grandson, and her two children, Sidney and Sam.
Melody loves swimming - for fun and fitness, reading, crafting (wreath making), and hanging out with her family. She is a member of Hinesville First United Methodist Church. She also loves game nights with the girls and she is also a patron of the Savannah Repertory Theatre.

Cale Parker Thorpe, Junior Funeral Assistant

Cale Thorpe is 14 years old. When he isn't on the motocross track, you can find him at the funeral home or cemeteries helping his mom, Candice and grandfather, Richard.

Kimberly Stevenot, Office Assistant

Kimberly Stevenot is a Vidalia, Georgia native who moved to Brunswick in 2006. After spending over a decade raising her 4 children, Kimberly joined the Brunswick Memorial Park family in 2017 when her youngest went off to Kindergarten. She is an office assistant who partners with the Funeral Directors and other office staff members to assist families in completing the necessary paperwork and processes during their time of grief.

When she is not at work, Kimberly enjoys going to the beach and watching movies with her husband, James and their children; Mason, Trip, Caden and Annaliese. She is an enthusiastic soccer/football/track/gymnastics mom and also likes reading, baking and regularly enjoys retail therapy to keep herself sane.

Taylor Dismuke, Office Assistant

Taylor Dismuke was born in Brunswick and lived here until her family relocated to her step-dad's town of Grand Marais, Minnesota. She spent middle school and half of her high school career there until her heart called her back home to Brunswick where She graduated from McIntosh County Academy in 2011. Taylor started a career in the nursing field in her senior year of high school and into her adult life. In 2015 that was put aside when she welcomed her son Huddson into the world and spent the next year as a full-time Mom. Taylor joined the Parker Family Company in early 2017 as an Office Assistant who works with the Funeral Directors and office staff to complete paperwork as well as funeral/ memorial supplies during the family's time of grief.

While Taylor is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, soaking up the sun, and also spending as much time with her son and daughter as possible.

Elaine Clark, Family Service Counselor

Elaine Clark has lived in the Brunswick, Georgia area most of her life, having moved from West Virginia when in her teens to be near her sister. Her mother and father also moved and this became “home”.
Elaine serves as our Family Service Counselor, assisting individuals in Advance Planning to lock in today’s prices for tomorrow’s needs. Her compassionate nature and desire to help people think through the process logically instead of emotionally over-spending helps prepare for “that day” when decisions can be more difficult. Elaine also explains and arranges advance payment options to fit one’s lifestyle and budget.
Elaine retired as Marketing Manager for Georgia Pacific Cellulose and had successful sales positions in the healthcare field. She is a Certified Trade Show Marketer through Northern Illinois University and a Certified Meeting Planner through the University of Georgia.
She enjoys spending time with her son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Cari, and grandson, Logan. She also enjoys reading, writing and zip-lining.

Randy Watson, Funeral Assistant

Randy Watson, originally from Ware County, moved to Brunswick in 1988 to work for Pitts Toyota as a salesman. In 1993 Randy joined Jack Nelson's Alpha Motor Sales family, as a salesman/finance manager. He retired from Alpha Motor's in 2016 to spend time with his wife of 29 years, Debbie Engel Watson, and his children and grandchildren. Randy enjoys target shooting and bird watching. He is a member of Altama Presbyterian Church and started doing jailhouse ministries 14 years ago.