BELLEVILLE-William Parker 'Parker' Hayes Jr., 36, of Washington, D.C. died unexpectedly at his home on Aug. 2, 2009.

Parker was project director of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and had resided in the Washington area for eleven years.

He was born in Williamsburg, Va. on Jan. 22, 1973, and spent his childhood in Belleville, Pennsylvania, where he lived for more than 20 years.

Parker is survived by his wife, Jennifer M. Schommer, of Washington, D.C., originally of Belgium, Wis. They were married on Sept. 13, 2008.

He is also survived by his father and mother, William P. Hayes Sr., and Connie (Harpster) Hayes, both of 454 Scenery Drive, State College, and the Heide Farm, Belleville; a sister, Margaret Hayes Aspinwall (husband Sam) of St. Petersburg, Fla.; a brother, Gregory T. Hayes (wife Meghan) of State College; and grandmother, Margaret M. Harpster, of Lewistown.

He was preceded in death by grandparents Glenn W. Harpster, of Lewistown and A. Reed and Esther Pomeroy Hayes, of Belleville.

Parker was a 1991 graduate of Indian Valley High School in Lewistown. He earned his undergraduate degree in History and American Studies from Dickinson College, Carlisle in 1995. He received his master's degree in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1997.

Prior to joining the Smithsonian, he was employed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and before that, the Airmen Memorial Museum in Suitland, Md., and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

At the Smithsonian, he was the project director for two ground-breaking exhibitions. Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers was the Smithsonian's largest traveling sports exhibition ever. Roberto Clemente: Beyond Baseball was a bilingual exhibition on a Latin American baseball player and humanitarian that traveled extensively to both museums and schools.

His master's thesis on an itinerant nineteenth century folk artist entitled, Drawn Home: Fritz Vogt's Rural New York, became the foundation for unprecedented exhibitions at the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown, N.Y. and the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City. His work was published in the fall 2000 issue of Folk Art, the Magazine of the Museum of American Folk Art.

While at the Airmen Memorial Museum, his investigation into the heroic death of Airman William H. Pitsenbarger, a pararescueman in Vietnam, was instrumental to Pitsanbarger becoming the posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Parker was a member of the American Association of Museums and the Program Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums. He was a lifelong member of Camp Hunter in Milroy. He was a member of the Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity.

Parker was a sports enthusiast and an avid Phillies and Penn State fan. He enjoyed hiking, golf, tennis, hunting, softball, and volleyball. He was active as a player and a coach in DC's Metro Sports Leagues and the historic Glover Park Softball League.

A private memorial service will be held in Parker's honor for family and close friends at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, at the Heide Farm, Belleville, with the Rev. Samuel G. Strohm officiating. Burial will be private and at the convenience of the family at Church Hill Cemetery, Reedsville.

The family will receive friends from 3:30 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the home of Bill and Connie Hayes, 454 Scenery Drive, State College.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in the name of William Parker Hayes Jr. to: the National Parks Foundation, 1201 Eye Street, NW, Suite 550B, Washington, D.C. 20005, or at www.nationalparks.org .

A second memorial service is being planned for a later date in Washington, D.C.

Arrangements are under the care of the Baggus Funeral Home, Belleville, PA 17004.