In 1980, Treasurer Parker appeared before the House Retirement Committee, chaired then by [[Shady Wall]] of West Monroe, to appeal for improved retirement benefits for state constitutional officers, including herself, the secretary of state, education superintendent, insurance commissioner, elections commissioner (position since discontinued), agriculture commissioner, and attorney general. Greater benefits were then being paid to legislators, former governors, and judges than to these constitutional officers. Wall adjourned the committee without acting on Parker's request. Few on the committee seemed sympathetic to Parker's appeal. One committee member in fact, [[Ron Gomez]] of [[Lafayette]], tried to reduce the retirement payments of former governors, judges, and legislators back to the level of Parker and the other constitutional officers, but Wall refused to recognize Gomez to offer his amendment.<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative,'' ([[Lafayette]]: Zemog Publishing, 2000), pp. 73-76, ISBN 0-9700156-0-7</ref>
Parker served until January 1, 1987, when she retired with nearly a year and a half left in her fifth term. [[Mary Landrieu]], then a state representative from [[New Orleans]], was elected in 1987 to succeed Parker as the state treasurer. Mary Landrieu defeated three fellow Democrats for the post, including two legislative colleagues, former [[U.S. Representative]] [[Buddy West|Claude Anthony "Buddy" Leach, Jr.]], a wealthy businessman from Leesville and later [[Lake Charles]] who later served as state chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, and [[Kevin Reilly]], a state representative and then the CEO of the Lamar Advertising Company in Baton Rouge.
On her retirement, Mrs. Parker received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Northwestern State University. In 1976, she was named Baton Rouge's "Woman of the Year. She was also listed in ''Who's Who in America.'' In 1994, Parker, former state Senator [[Virginia Shehee]], [[Virginia Martínez]], and [[Lindy Boggs]] (1916-2013) were among the first nine inductees into the new Louisiana Center for Women and Government Hall of Fame at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nicholls.edu/lcwg/hall-of-fame/past-inductees/|title=Louisiana Center for Women and Government – Past Inductees|publisher=Nicholls.edu|accessdate=September 6, 2009}}</ref>
Parker died at the age of ninety-four of complications from a heart attack at her home in Baton Rouge early in 2015. A [[Baptist]],<ref name=obit/> Parker is referred to in her obituary as a "lifelong [[Christianity|Christian]]". Her services were held on January 24 at Rabenhorst Funeral Home in Baton Rouge. The obituary does not mention a burial site but lists pallbearers and honorary pallbearers.<ref name=parkerfuneral>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=mary-evelyn-parker&pid=173917053&fhid=17442|title=Mary Evelyn Parker obituary|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=January 21, 2015}}</ref>
==Retirement==
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