PETER (81) DIES IN FIRE TRAGEDY
THE devastated family of an 81-year-old man who died in a fire at his home on Tuesday have said it is a miracle that his wife wasn’t in the house at the time.
Peter (Pete) Parker perished in the blaze which engulfed the family’s beautiful home at Horetown, Foulksmills, in the early hours of Tuesday.
Pete’s son Phil arrived at the house where he discovered his father’s remains in a chair in the front room. All of the house - save the gable ends – and its contents, a lifetime of family photographs and prized possessions, were destroyed in the inferno. Two units of New Ross firebrigade attended and gardaí preserved the scene and carried out forensic tests.
From Rugby in England, Pete was married to Elizabeth Donnelly who is a Horetown native.
The couple met through mutual friends while Elizabeth was working in England in the 1950s. They would have been 60 years married this year. In his youth Pete was a Royal Navy cadet.
Pete’s daughter-in-law Kathleen said: ‘It’s a miracle that she’s still with us. She went to England with her sister to mark her 80th birthday the previous day. If it had been the night before she would have been in the house.’
They had four children in the UK and Pete enjoyed an active life, fishing and socialising on weekends. They enjoyed a great life in England where Pete was the managing director of a number of companies over the years.
He retired in his fifties and Pete and Elizabeth decided to move back to Kathleen’s home place of Horetown. They built their dream house from scratch.
Pete was well known in the area and loved living in rural County Wexford. He whiled away many an afternoon tending to their garden and enjoyed a pint at the Out House and McDonagh’s.
Over the years Pete and Elizabeth enjoyed many holidays. ‘They did everything together. They visited Ireland regularly over the years before they moved here,’ Kathleen said.
Pete was a huge rugby fan and watched the first half of a rugby match with his son Phil on Monday night last and was due to watch the second half with him on Tuesday. Elizabeth left for England for a trip with her sister Kitty the previous day so he was on his own when the fire took hold.
‘Phil discovered the fire; it was horrendous. We are all devastated. He has a very, very supportive family both here and in England and all the family are making arrangements for the funeral. There is no date set yet as we want the whole family here. We always said we didn’t want a rushed funeral so we are observing the English traditions of the Church of England.’
Describing the response of the local community as incredible, Kathleen said: ‘You’d be overwhelmed by it.’