Brown Harris Stevens’ MacRae Parker dies at 90

MacRae Parker
MacRae Parker

MacRae Parker, a 50-plus year stalwart of Brown Harris Stevens, died today at his home in New York. He was 90.

“Mac will be remembered as a true gentleman, respected pillar of the industry and philanthropist,” Brown Harris Stevens said today in a statement.

A graduate of Yale University, Parker initially worked on his family farm in Virginia and was an agricultural chemicals salesman before joining Brown Harris Stevens in 1961.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Over his long career, Parker sold several high-end townhouses, including 22 East 67th Street and 179 East 80th Street, as well as hundreds of condos and co-ops in virtually every top Manhattan neighborhood. He won the Real Estate Board of New York’s Henry Forster Award for lifetime achievement in 2010.

In an industry where self-promotion is the norm, Parker was famously discreet about his clients and deals, once telling New York Magazine that “I don’t talk about these things. I think it’s wrong.” But he did take a great deal of pleasure in what he saw as a continuously challenging career. “Looking back over the years,” he once said, “I cannot imagine any other work that would have given me more satisfaction than a career in real estate.”

A memorial service for Parker will be held on February 19th at 3:00 p.m. at Christ Church, located on Park Avenue at 60th Street. —Hiten Samtani