Thomas T. "Spike" PARNELL

PARNELL, Thomas T. "Spike" Thomas T. Parnell, better known as Spike, was a native Tucsonan when they were a very rare breed. He was the first son of Robert and Julia Parnell and was born at the Stork's Nest in 1932. A grandfather immediately gave him the nickname Spike. He grew up on 10 acres on the southeast corner of Fifth and Craycroft, which was all dirt roads and far out of town. It was a challenge for the kids to get to Sam Hughes, Mansfeld, and Tucson High. Spike was in the Tucson High Class of 1950 and the U. of A. Class of 1954. Then he fought the Korean War on the island of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands and became Tom instead of Spike. After marrying Florence Archer in Hawaii and returning to the U. of A. to become a mechanical engineer, Tom spent 35 years in California working for FMC Corporation in the defense industry and living in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos. When he retired and returned to Tucson in 1992, he became Spike again! His wonderful life had low points when he lost his son, Mark, in 1991 and his wife, Florence in 1998. Spike enjoyed his retirement years in a desert home in northeast Tucson, seeing all his family and friends again. After he married Suzanne Bernard, a Tucson High classmate, in 2001, he began to travel abroad again and even liked RV travel in the west and in Mexico. Spike is survived by his wife, Suzanne; son, Eric Parnell (Karen); three grandchildren, Rebecca, Michael, and Steven; and his brother, David Parnell (Mary). Services will be private. A Celebration of Life will be at the Mountain Oyster Club, 6400 E. El Dorado Circle, on Saturday, February 3, 2018 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Donations are suggested for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd., 85716 or a charity of your choice. Arrangements by HUDGEL'S SWAN FUNERAL HOME.