Twins are always said to have a connection closer than anyone. For Tramel Parker, the loss of her twin brother, Troy, was devastating. While he may be gone, she continues to bring him with her wherever she goes, with his likeness printed on a tote bag.
“It’s like my security blanket,” Tramel said through tears. “He’s always with me.”
Troy Parker was killed o
n March 13, 2018 in Fairmount. At the time of his death, the 40-year-old was still figuring his life out.
“Just because you’re 40 doesn’t mean your life is over,” his sister said. “I think he just needed more time to get out of the environment.”
He wasn’t always certain of his path in life, but he was beginning to blossom. Troy wanted to travel to the Dominican Republic, was working to improve his credit so he could invest in real estate and was improving his health — all with the guidance of his sister.
“Who knew this would happen? I was talking to him the day before [his death] about his credit and stuff. We were so close, I was in his personal business,” Tramel said. “It really was unconditional love and it’s kind of precious.”
His sister challenged him, and vice versa. “I would teach him, and now he’s teaching me,” Tramel said.
“I just enjoyed that he really respected my opinion, that he thought highly of me. He saw me, and I really like that about Troy.”
Tramel calls her brother the “gentle giant.” Not everyone saw his sweet, caring and sensitive side, but it was one of his best characteristics. He would help his friends when they were in a bind, loved caring for animals and picked neighborhood kids up from school.
“He still had that curiosity for life in him. He was ambitious still,” Tramel shared. “He had an innocence just in how he helped people.”
Throughout his life, he acted as a caretaker for ill family members. Troy wanted to take care of those he cared about, and aimed to brighten their lives. For Tramel, the brightness he shared still shines through in her memories.
“He actually brought home, over the course of three or four months, four dogs. I was living in the house by myself, and I would get home and there would be another dog,” Tramel said with a laugh. “It shows you how he cared. I was living in a house by myself, dealing with my mom’s illness, paying the bills, but he still had enough interest in me to bring me dogs. That’s the type of stuff he would do.”
Another hobby of Troy’s was coin collecting. He was fascinated by rare two dollar bills and old coins. Tramel recalls a time when her brother asked her to hold onto a two dollar bill for him. Without realizing that it was a big deal, Tramel spent the bill.
“He was upset. He really was into collecting them,” Tramel remembered. “I was like, ‘who knew?’”
Tramel will always remember her brother with so much love. While the two didn’t look like twins (“I’m brown skinned, he’s darker skinned, I’m 5’2”, he’s 6’1”), they were each other’s’ best friend.
“As we go older, we just got closer and closer. I just couldn’t get enough of him”
His sister wants other to remembers and cherish Troy’s memory just as fondly as she does. To keep his legacy alive, she founded the Troy Parker Foundation.
“Me starting this foundation for him, it’s a way for him to give back,” Tramel expressed with tears in her eyes. “It kind of gives my life a sense of more purpose, too. The foundation will be helping underserved communities of Philadelphia, because there still is a lot of crime in these communities.”
Troy’s murder is still unsolved. The City of Philadelphia is offering a $20,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the responsible person. If you have any information, send tips to 215-546-TIPS.
Date: 2018-03-13
Location: 2100 College Av, Philadelphia, PA
Online tribute:
Thank you Troy for sharing your life with me. It’s been a privilege and joy to witness how we’ve grown through the years. We were each other’s unconditional friend …
💕 R.I.P. my love, my twin flame, my soulmate, my confidante, my brother … until we meet again
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