Parker Gentry, 64, died July 2, 2024, after a brief illness. She was at her home in Millbrook, New York, surrounded by her family.
Encircled by friends was also how Parker lived, and often they were joined by horses, dogs, golf clubs, skis, tennis rackets, polo mallets, shotguns and fly rods. She was Joint Master of the Millbrook Hunt for 15 years and was a beloved and popular presence in every aspect of the Dutchess County sporting and social scene.

She was both tomboy and bombshell. As down to earth as she was elegant, and as energetic and enthusiastic as a young spaniel, of which she had two. Ever seeking adventure with a dose of mischief along the way, she could have been a heroine from the pages of a romance novel.

Parker was as real and authentic as her soft Southern accent, as brave as a lioness, and as funny and bawdy as the jokes she told - of which the punchlines were often delivered with one of her signature contagious laughs.

Born December 26, 1959, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Parker was raised in Asheville on her family's farm by Hugh and Martha Gentry. She got her first BB gun at 7 and traded up from there, shooting clays and joining in local quail hunts and dove shoots. With an upbringing between the two towns, Parker and her three siblings were raised in beautiful rural settings but were also exposed to the prosperous tobacco, textile, and banking industries of the South.

Parker went on to study Political Science and Economics and graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1982.

After school, Parker moved to New York City and made a career of her love of guns and the outdoors working for the erstwhile Harris Publications, then publisher of numerous titles including those specializing in guns and hunting. In the 2011 book Chicks with Guns by Lindsay McCrum, Parker tells a tale on herself that captures both her competitive spirit and her humility, with humor and grace: Asked to join a prestigious ladies sporting clays team, she was confident in her ability (in shooting and in all things) to watch the experts and to mimic them. In her first contest in the Federation Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse (FITASC), she marveled at her luck in having France's best shot on her squad. When her turn came, she set up for every target exactly as he had. "It wasn't until I missed 25 targets that a teammate pointed out that, in fact, he was a left-handed shooter. Once I recovered from my embarrassment, I decided to learn to shoot my own game."

Parker was fearless and full of life. She was always making plans, hosting gatherings, seeing friends, flying across the world for a safari or a ski run (off-piste of course). If you had a dollar for every woman who fancied being Parker and for every man who just plain fancied her, you'd be wealthy indeed. And that is fine. But those same folks would tell you that Parker's friendship was wealth beyond measure.

Surviving Parker are sisters Elizabeth (Bill) St. John (Cullman, Alabama) and Catherine Madison Gentry (Millbrook, New York) and brother Hugh Gentry (Honolulu, Hawaii), nephew and nieces John, Elizabeth and Ava Quartararo and Hunter and Parker Gentry.

A service will be held at the Mashomack Preserve Club Wednesday July 10th, 2024  at 4.00pm.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Allen Funeral Home, Millbrook.