Parker Morse (April 11, 1972 to May 4, 2026)
It is with great sorrow that the family of Parker John Morse announces his unexpected passing due to an undetermined cardiac event. He was 52.
Parker was a devoted father, husband, and son, an avid runner and reader, an excellent listener, someone who could have an intelligent conversation about nearly anything, and the kind of person who would stay put for an extra hour because there was a cat in his lap.
Early in his career, he helped usher Runner’s World magazine into the digital age by serving as the publication’s first online editor. He also spent years covering running for track & field’s international governing body, reporting on two Olympic Games and six world championships in that capacity. Most recently, he worked as a software engineer for MathWorks.
Parker was born in Brunswick, Maine, the son of John G. Morse, IV and Elizabeth Bourn Morse of Phippsburg. He graduated from Morse High School in Bath in 1992. He earned a B.A. in Russian language and literature and ran cross country and track at Amherst College.
During college, Parker first caught the attention of Runner’s World’s editors when he won a contest asking magazine readers to name their favorite running road. Parker wrote that his was Flat Hills Road in Amherst, Massachusetts, and they chose his entry for its humor and contradiction.
Parker went to work for Runner’s World right out of college and spent five years there. In 2001, concerned about the practicality of making a living in running media, he began to make a gradual shift toward his most recent role as a software engineer. He earned a master’s in computer science from Tufts in 2007, while continuing to cover running events on a freelance basis for many years.
He met his wife, Alison Wade, briefly during college and five years later, they reconnected and began dating when they were both working in the running industry. They were together for 26 years and married for almost 17.
Parker accomplished many great things in his too-short lifetime, but he really hit his stride when he became a dad to twins Hazel and Addie in 2011. Parenting was a humbling experience, but it helped him become a wiser and more compassionate person. And no one made him laugh harder than his children.
When he didn’t understand their interests, he would educate himself, and he sometimes ended up adopting those passions as his own. One child’s fascination with vocaloid reignited his interest in music, and he had recently bought himself an electric guitar for his birthday. He still read with the other child nearly every night, and they had a shared language because of all of the stories they had enjoyed over the years. He loved going on adventures big and small with both of them.
Parker was always willing to do a favor for a friend or a stranger, and he took care of his family in so many ways, including leaving behind a 45-page document detailing how to maintain the house, what to do in case of emergency, and other things only he would know. He had worked on it for several years, despite having no reason to believe it would be needed any time soon.
Though he had stepped away from most of his work in running, Parker still ran most days and took a lot of pride in his longtime Boston Marathon volunteer role relaying information from the bike spotters on the race course to the broadcast team. He lived in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and was a town meeting member not so much because he enjoyed the meetings but because he thought it was important to contribute to his community.
In addition to his children, wife, and parents, Parker is survived by his brother, Ben (Deb Morse); two sisters-in-law, Jennifer Wade (Tony Corsentino) and Courtney Wade (Brent Heeringa); his mother-in-law, Ruth Wade; four aunts and uncles, five cousins, six nieces and nephews, his beloved cat, Sir Gilbert, and two rabbits, Junie and Chive.
The family will host a celebration of life at Lookout Farm in Natick, Massachusetts, on Sunday, June 7, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The most up to date information will be available at https://sites.google.com/view/parkermorse.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial gifts to the Natick Community Organic Farm, Stray Pets in Need, or The Story School’s scholarship fund.
Click here to make an online donation to Natick Community Organic Farm