By Mike Pound

Globe columnist

mpound@joplinglobe.com

Jack Parker always made me laugh.

Sometimes he meant to make me laugh. Sometimes he didn’t.

I mentioned that to Jack’s daughter, Dianne Schramm, on Tuesday morning, and she laughed. Dianne said she knew exactly what I meant.

“You laughed with Jack and you laughed at Jack,” Dianne said.

Jack Parker passed away Monday evening. He was 84. If you knew Jack, or if you know his wife, Carol, and his children, Doug, Steven and Dianne, you probably won’t be surprised that Jack laughed until the very end. Dianne said that while Jack slept in his hospital room over the weekend, his family, gathered around his bed, reminisced and occasionally laughed.

“We were just joking around, and he would wake up, get the jokes and smile back at us,” she said.

Viewers of KSNF-TV, of course, know Carol, the host of the long-running “Carol Park Show.” And they also probably know Jack from his annual Father’s Day appearances on Carol’s cooking show. Every year, Jack would fix something on the show, and Jack and Carol would talk about Jack’s special Father’s Day dishes. Not surprisingly, the Father’s Day shows were an inside family joke.

“Dad never cooked anything for us,” Dianne said with a laugh. “Mom would make whatever it was, and he would just show up and fake it.”

Looking back at what I have just written, I realize that I’ve used a form of the word laugh eight times. That’s what happens when you talk about Jack.

I met Carol and Jack more than 20 years ago. I was working at KOAM-TV, and I sat with Jack and Carol at some sort of media dinner. I remember laughing a lot at that dinner. Later, I went to work at KSN and really got to know Carol, which meant I also really got to know Jack. Friends of the couple will tell you that wherever Carol went, Jack went. There were pretty much inseparable. Carol would lead the way, talking to anyone (and sometimes anything), and Jack would walk behind with a big grin on his face.

Once, during one of Jack’s annual Father’s Day appearances on Carol’s show, he managed to crack up an entire TV production crew and, in turn, presumably an entire TV audience. Carol was talking to one of the cameramen — a guy named Jeff — seconds before she went on the air. When the show began, Carol looked into the camera and said, “Hello. I’m here today with my husband, Jeff.” Realizing what she had said, Carol started giggling. So did the crew. Jack didn’t say a word. He didn’t smile. He didn’t frown. He just looked at Carol. When Carol finally stopped giggling, she turned to Jack and asked him what he planned to fix on her show. Jack looked at Carol for a second and in a loud voice said, “Never mind about that. I want to know who Jeff is!”

Jack and Carol have long been an important part of my life and my wife’s life. Dianne and my wife have been friends since college. Jack and Carol were with my wife and me on our first date (it’s a long story). Jack and Carol were some of the first folks to visit my wife in the hospital after the birth of our daughter. One of the baby gifts Jack and Carol gave us had the words “Daddy’s little princess” on it. Jack told me that Dianne was his little princess and that Emma would be mine.

He was right.

Like most parents, Jack could be stern. But mainly, Dianne said, he was a lot of fun. While she was in college, Dianne brought a boyfriend home to meet her parents. The boyfriend played in a band. He had purple hair. Jack didn’t bat an eye.

“Later, (Jack) went to the club with me to see their show,” Dianne said.

Tuesday, my wife told me about a lunch she had with Jack when she was in college. Jack wanted to give my wife some fatherly advice. During that lunch, Jack mentioned that Dianne had a new boyfriend.

“I like him. He’s got normal hair,” Jack said.

Jack also went with Doug to see the Grateful Dead in concert.

“There wasn’t any place you couldn’t take him,” Dianne said. “He was always up to go anywhere.”

A memorial service for Jack will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday at First Community Church, 2007 E. 15th St. The Parker family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Parker Mortuary 1502 S. Joplin Ave.

As I write this, I’m thinking about Jack, and I’m laughing. I think that’s OK. And I think that’s what Jack would want me do. I think that’s what he wants folks to do tonight and Thursday morning.

Jack had a great life. He served his country in World War II. He came home and married the prettiest girl in town. He had three great kids and eight great grandchildren. And he got to laugh.