Perry Marvin Parks Jr.

Perry Marvin Parks, Jr.
HAMLET -- Perry Marvin Parks, Jr., 93, died Monday, June 25, 2007, at Moore Regional Hospital. He was born on January 31, 1914 in Denton, N.C., the son of the late Dora Presnell Parks and Perry Marvin Parks, Sr.
Mr. Parks served honorably in the U.S. Navy from 1934 until 1954, attaining the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. He fought in both the Korean War and World War II. During his military career, he was assigned to the USS Birmingham, USS Brooklyn, USS Pocomoke, USS Jarvis, USS Langley, and the USS Farragut, and he was stationed at various ports, including Puget Sound, Norfolk, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Sicily, and Japan. After retiring from the Navy, Mr. Parks briefly operated a pawn shop in Hamlet and, thereafter, worked for the Richmond County School System, where he retired in 1974. He was the first male member of the Hamlet Garden Club, with which he diligently worked to beautify the town. He was a member of Saint James Catholic Church.
Surviving are his loving wife, Violet Wood Parks; three sons, Perry M. (Gale) Parks, III, of Rockingham, Jesse Lowell (Sherry) Parks, of West Jefferson, NC, and Douglas Michael Parks, of Waldorf, MD; and a daughter, Catherine Beatrice Parks (Roger) Nolan, of Coral Gables, FL; a sister, Lucille McBride, of Concord, NC; seven grandchildren, Denise Lowery, of Birmingham, AL, Gina Jones, of Ruston, AL, Janet Walker, of Radford, VA, Kristie Parks and Elizabeth Parks, both of Rockingham, Dan Loewenherz and Michelle Loewenherz, both of Coral Gables, FL; six great grandchildren, Kristen Collier, of West Jefferson, NC, Jason Collier, of Lexington, NC, April Lowery, of Tuscaloosa, AL, Will Lowery, of Birmingham, AL, Jillian Jones and Jordon Jones, both of Ruston, LA; and numerous loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and other family members. His former wives, Idell Wilson Parks and Beatrice Mullis Parks, preceded him in death, as did a number of brothers and sisters.
Funeral mass will be conducted at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, June 27, at Saint James Catholic Church, 1018 W. Hamlet Avenue (Highway 74), in Hamlet. Interment will follow at East Side Cemetery, in Rockingham.
The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Tuesday at Watson-King Funeral Home, 100 Cheraw Road (Highway 177), in Hamlet. Also, family and friends will be welcome at other times at the home of Perry Parks III, 233 Deerfield Road (Meadowood subdivision), in Rockingham, to celebrate Mr. Parks' long and distinguished life.
Memorials may be made to Saint James Catholic Church, PO Box 1208, Hamlet, NC 28345.
Watson-King Funeral Home in Hamlet is serving the Parks family. Online condolences may be made to www.watson-kingfuneralhome.com.