The phrase "עטרת ראשי" (ateres roshi == my head's crown) appears in many Hebrew texts to refer to respectable individuals. I heard in a shi'ur recently that it specifically refers to the father of the writer, and some Googling later, it seems to be used in Modern Hebrew discourse to refer to mothers as well.
The connection to respectability is clear, due simply to the meaning of the words, and possibly the phrase's appearance in parallel to "my honor" in the pasuk "כְּבוֹדִי מֵעָלַי הִפְשִׁיט וַיָּסַר עֲטֶרֶת רֹאשִׁי" (Iyov 19:9). But what is the connection to parents? It almost seems disrespectful to refer to one's parent as an object generally used to aggrandize oneself and one's own image.
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