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FOX 8 Journalist Nancy Parker

Updated with the pilot’s name, and a remembrance of Parker’s life from WGNO’s Susan Roesgen

NEW ORLEANS, LA – A stunt plane crash on Friday (Aug. 16) claimed the lives of FOX 8 WVUE-TV anchorwoman Nancy Parker, and pilot Franklin Augustus.

Parker was working on a story about Augustus and joined him in his 2-seater plane.  Witnesses said the plane had just taken off from Lakefront Airport when it crashed in an open field on Jourdan Road.

Friends and colleagues of Parker and Augustus — and television viewers across the city– were stunned. Parker’s co-workers at FOX 8 were the first to find  out about the tragedy, and they had the difficult task of reporting on the accident during the station’s evening newscasts.

“Nancy was absolutely a joy to work with each and every day”, said FOX 8 Vice President and General Manager Tim Ingram in a statement released by the station. “Nancy was a part of the FOX 8 family for the last 23 years. She put her heart and soul into her work, covering thousands of stories and touching countless lives. She will be sorely missed, and her absence creates a void that cannot be filled.”

“Today we lost a wonderful journalist and remarkable friend,” said Ingram, “and the New Orleans television community lost a true treasure, but beyond that, her family lost a wife, a mother and daughter. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

Parker was 53 and is survived by three children and her husband, Glynn Boyd.  Boyd is a public information officer for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and a former WGNO-TV reporter.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office released the following statement:

“Sheriff Lopinto and the men and women of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office mourn the passing of Nancy Parker, wife of Public Information Officer Glynn Boyd. Nancy was known to all in the Greater New Orleans area as a trusted voice, and she will be missed. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the entire Parker and Boyd families, Nancy’s co-workers at WVUE, and everyone in the local media and public whose lives she touched.”

WGNO TV General Manager John Cruse also offered his “deepest condolences to the family of Nancy Parker and to our friends at WVUE.  New Orleans lost a wonderful person and a tremendous broadcast professional. We also offer our condolences to the family of Franklin Augustus.”

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was among the first of many city leaders to issue a statement, expressing sorrow for both lives lost.

“For more than two decades, Nancy Parker sat opposite John Snell as the FOX 8 co-anchor and gave us the news of the day. She told it to us straight, but with a combination of professionalism, intelligence, warmth and grace we may never experience again. New Orleans did not just lose a five-time Emmy-winning journalist, or a familiar, comforting face on our TV screens. We lost a loving mother of three, a beautiful human being, and an invaluable member of our community.”

“Both victims lost in this tragic incident were beloved, one-of-a-kind individuals. Our hearts and our love go out to their families and all who knew them. May Nancy and Franklin both rest in God’s perfect peace.”