Jeanette Plauché Parker was born and raised in Lake Charles and moved to Lafayette in 1957. After earning her doctorate at the University of Georgia, she served 25 years on the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) faculty, developing and directing programs for gifted and creative children and their teachers. She was an endowed professor, widely published in her field; she retired in 2004 as Professor Emerita and continues to serve actively on the Board of Trustees for Ascension Episcopal School, which she founded in 1959. Dr. Parker was married for 60 years to Luther George Parker (deceased); they had three sons: Jim, Robert, and George Parker.

Dr. Parker spent several years researching and writing her latest book, "Bendel Gardens: An Historic Treasure in Lafayette, Louisiana." The book, based on family and church records, legal documents, personal interviews, and other primary sources, presents an authentic history of the Bendel Gardens subdivision, in which Dr. Parker has lived since 1992.