Jeffry Noel Parker, a noted Pittsburgh disability rights advocate, died Feb. 3. He was 71.

Mr. Parker was born Dec. 24, 1953, in Phoenixville, Pa. to Dr. Albert and Jean Parker. He grew up in Phoenixville and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977 with a degree in psychobiology, later pursuing a career in business and human services.

One of his biggest accomplishments at Pitt was helping to develop the Access Guide, a detailed map for disabled students, faculty and visitors, said his wife, Katie Parker. Mr. Parker had a form of spinal muscular atrophy which made using a traditional wheelchair very difficult, especially because the condition prevented him full use of his right hand, which was needed for propelling and steering.

At Phoenixville High School where he would become valedictorian of his graduating class, Mr. Parker used a scooter specially modified by his father to navigate the halls. When he arrived as a student on the Pitt campus, he had upgraded his mode of transportation to something he called a “fiberglass boat,” also designed by his dad.

Ms. Parker said her husband would tell stories about his difficulties navigating the Oakland streets more than a decade before the Americans with Disabilities Act would be passed in 1990, requiring modifications such as curb cuts for wheelchair access. During snowstorms, the only way he could get to class was by following behind a snow plow, she said.

The guide he helped to design divided the campus into four quadrants and detailed the easiest routes for those with mobility challenges.

“This was important to him because all his life he had to figure out how to get around things,” she said. He did not want others to have to struggle to navigate the campus as he had.

And that commitment continued throughout his life, said Jean Holland “Holly” Dick, a Pittsburgh Planning Commission member and a disability rights advocate who worked alongside Mr. Parker on many initiatives.

“Jeff worked for all people with all types of disabilities; not just those who used wheelchairs,” Ms. Dick said. “He was a good mediator and writer and an all-around good worker.”

“Throughout his life, he has used these considerable talents to better the lives of people with all types of disabilities,” Ms. Dick wrote when she nominated Mr. Parker for the outstanding advocate award for the 2022 Oakland Ramp Crawl, which he later received. He was also a 2015-1016 Jefferson Award recipient for his service to the Pittsburgh-area disabled community.

The Jefferson Awards were started in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service and are administered locally by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette with sponsorship of Highmark, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments.

Additionally, Mr. Parker served on the Committee for Accessible Transportation (CAT), the advisory committee to PRT and ACCESS Transportation. “There he has labored tirelessly to make all PAAC’s buses and T accessible to people with all types of disabilities and to establish and perfect the ACCESS paratransit system to transport the elderly and those people who cannot use the fixed route system,” Ms. Dick’s nomination letter read.

Mr. Parker also served on the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council for 15 years and as its president for four years. He volunteered for the Three Rivers Investment Board where he served as its president for six years and oversaw special grants for a variety of community improvement activities such as improving air pollution standards, funding programs for LGBTQ people and promoting social change.

He also served on the board of Service Coordination Unlimited, which supervises service coordinators who advocate for the needs of users of attendant care for people with severe physical disabilities.

“He is the most generous person I know. He was incredibly generous,” Ms. Parker said. “He really believed that services shouldn’t be segregated, no matter someone’s disability. He believed we as a community have an obligation to accommodate that [disabled] person so they can live as fully as possible.”

Mr. Parker is survived by his wife and his sisters, Jill Parker and Janet Parker. He was predeceased by both of his parents, his half-brother Robert Parker and his half-sister Jayne Sewell.

A celebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at the Pittsburgh Golf Club, 5280 Northumberland St., Squirrel Hill.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Disability Options Network at info@disabilityoptionsnetwork.org or the FISA Foundation at fisafoundation.org in his memory.

First Published: March 13, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: March 13, 2025, 9:59 a.m.