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"Strawberry King" Roy Parke Dies At 86

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 5, 2008

PLANT CITY Roy Parke, a longtime grower known as the unofficial "Strawberry King," died this morning.
He was 86.
Parke had been in declining health since he had a stroke about six years ago. This morning, he was having trouble breathing and his family took him to South Florida Baptist Hospital, where he died about 10 a.m.
His family was with him when he died, his daughter, Sandee Sytsma said.
He built a strawberry empire that included a farm and the popular Parkesdale Farm Market.
Parke was active for years in the Florida Strawberry Festival and a building on the grounds is named for Parke and his wife Helen.
The Parkes were instrumental in helping build the festival into what it is today, spreading across 110 acres and drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators each year.
When temperatures fall below 32 degrees, TV crews assigned to cover the freeze often sought out Roy Parke, and he became a familiar face to Tampa Bay viewers.
Parke, who served two years as festival president, was known for many innovations and was the first grower to fly strawberries to Europe in 1962. Parke was director emeritus but was a familiar sight at the festival until the last few years.
The Parke family owns a farm and Parkesdale Farm Market, 3702 U.S. 92 W., where customers often form long lines for strawberry shortcake and other goodies.
The first person inducted into the Florida Strawberry Growers Hall of Fame, Roy Parke was been showered with honors and prestigious appointments: Florida Agriculturist of the Year, Outstanding Strawberry Grower and director of the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau.

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