Faces of 2010: The Parker sisters

THE PARKER SISTERS OF CHESTER

WHY YOU KNOW THEM: Hundreds of Richmond-area residents rallied to help Cherry, Hanna, Vanessa and Molly after their father fatally shot their mother outside a Chester restaurant in June, leaving them with no parents, insurmountable debt and an uncertain future.

WHAT'S NEW: Buoyed by the community's generosity, the four sisters were able to stay together in the family's home, which was substantially repaired over the summer by more than 300 volunteers.

Moved by the sisters' plight, many people in the Chester community and beyond gave more $200,000 in monetary contributions, in addition to donated materials, services and time to help the sisters reclaim their lives. The money has been placed in a trust fund to help with their living expenses as they continue to work or go to school.

Additionally, a wealthy benefactor has set up trust funds for each sister's four-year college education. The trusts also will pay for their health insurance while they attend school if it is not covered by an employer.

"I think they are still in a little bit of a shock from the outpouring of the community," said Debie Girvin, one of four key family supporters who volunteered to organize the assistance effort and keep watch over the sisters.

Cherry, the eldest sister, quit her communications job in California to move back and now has custody of Molly, the youngest. All four live in the family home. Cherry's boyfriend, stationed at a Navy base in San Diego, proposed marriage on her 25th birthday, and she is now seeking part-time work as she prepares to start college.

Middle sisters Hanna and Vanessa, 21 and 19 respectively, continue to work several jobs as they attend J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. Both are pursuing careers in health care.

Molly, who has since turned 15, just completed the first semester of her freshman year at Thomas Dale High School, where she's doing well academically, Girvin said. She earned a spot on the school's field hockey team this fall.

"The best thing is, they're trying to pull their lives together and be as normal as they can be under the circumstances," Girvin said.

Their father, Richard Parker, pleaded no contest Nov. 30 to fatally shooting his wife, Cindy, and seriously wounding a local teenager who came to Cindy Parker's aid during a June 23 domestic clash outside Pietro's Pizza & Italian Restaurant on Osborne Road.

Parker, 57, saved his daughters the spectacle of a trial in accepting a plea agreement that, at a minimum, will send him to prison for 25 years when he is sentenced in February.

Months after a flurry of community support helped stabilize the sisters' dire financial situation, well-wishers still occasionally drop by with gifts and other aid.

Neal Brayton, an 82-year-old retired Midlothian resident, recently gave each of the sisters a Christmas card with individual checks. Brayton, who donated $5,000 to the family's memorial fund in July, wanted the sisters to have money for Christmas shopping, said Jon Schoepflin, another key family supporter.

The sisters celebrated their first Christmas without their parents by preparing for the holiday much like their mother did. They put up a tree where their mother would usually place it and stayed very close to family tradition in decorating the house, Girvin said.

They also prepared a Christmas brunch as their mother traditionally did — with Girvin's husband cooking the waffles — and volunteered for a couple of hours serving meals to the homeless at a local church.

Aside from Cherry's difficulty in landing a part-time job, the most vexing problem the sisters face is selling their house. Despite substantial renovations, the family still hasn't found a buyer and has had to substantially lower their asking price.

The plan was to sell the heavily mortgaged home and then rent a more modest house near Thomas Dale High School, so Molly could graduate there. Now, family supporters are hoping to find someone willing to buy the home as an investment property and allow the sisters to continue living there while paying rent, Schoepflin said.

But regardless of what happens, the sisters are counting their blessings, Girvin said.

"They know that people reached out and did these wonderful things for them, but they are so humbled by what everyone did, that I think they're nervous about spending [the donated money]," she said. "They know it's there, and they're very glad it's there, but I think their intention is to use it very wisely. They're very frugal and cautious in what they do."

Mark Bowes