NORTH BRANCH, Minn. (KARE) – A group of Burger King employees and customers teamed up to honor a 91-year-old regular after his death by having his name engraved on his usual chair in the restaurant’s dining room.
Jenny Olson and her brother, Leo Parkin, were surprised when several Burger King employees showed up at the funeral for their father, 91-year-old Jerry Parkin.
“Someone came into the kitchen at church and said, ‘The whole crew of Burger King is here, and they brought a chair,’” Olson said. “I said, ‘What?’”
The employees, who were wearing their work uniforms, were from the North Branch, Minnesota, location, where Jerry Parkin met with his friends for coffee every morning. They say those who meet at the restaurant have become like family to them – especially Jerry.
“He would walk in, and we would have his order ready for him,” said Monica Kuball, one of the Burger King employees who attended the funeral.
Ashley Fundingsland, another employee who attended the funeral, says Jerry Parkin always sat in the same seat, which the employees brought with them.
“That was his seat. He always sat there every morning, so we had to bring his chair,” Fundingsland said.
The back of the chair was newly engraved with the 91-year-old veteran’s name, along with the dates of his birth and death. The idea of honoring him in such a way came from Kevin Bennett, who shared coffee with him every morning.
Bennett describes the chair as “a seat of honor.” His wife used a wood burner to engrave Jerry Parkin’s name. She then engraved a second chair for another regular at coffee who’d recently died.
“I’ve never had anybody want to memorialize a chair in the dining room for somebody,” said Tom DeHaven, the general manager at the Burger King location in North Branch.
DeHaven got permission from his corporate boss to engrave Jerry Parkin’s chair, which now sits back in the restaurant’s dining room.
Denise Kewitsch, another employee who attended the funeral, says the chair reflects their feelings toward the 91-year-old.
“We all loved him,” she said.
And Jerry Parkin loved Burger King – especially the North Branch location. When he turned 90, the employees there hosted his birthday party. Even in his final days, as the veteran lay in the hospital, he pleaded with his family to bring him a meal from the restaurant.
“I couldn’t believe it. He said he wanted chicken nuggets, a cookie and a shake,” says Leo Parkin, who picked up the food for his father.
It was his last meal.
Five months after her father’s funeral, Olson returned to the Burger King with hugs and gratitude for the employees. Smiling, she sat down on her father’s chair.
“I feel it here, and I feel it in my heart, too,” Olson said, running her fingers across the engraved wood. “Quite an honor to have.”
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