Charles W. Parks

Charles Wesley Parks, 81, of Vero Beach, Fla., died Monday, May 3, 2004. He was born March 31, 1923, in Sewickley, where he lived for 28 years. During World War II, Mr. Parks served in the Army Air Corps in the 492nd Bomber Group, the only group to participate in nighttime flying missions over Europe. He attended Duquesne University and Midway College in Kentucky. He moved to Ashland, Ky., in 1951 while working for Hartford Insurance, for which he worked for 32 years. He was active in community volunteer work, serving as exalted ruler of the Elks Club and president of the Jaycees, and was a charter member of the Ashland VFW post. While living in Ashland, he also was president of the Eastern Kentucky Transportation Co., a coal trucking firm. In 1981, he moved to Belize, Central America, where he was vice president of Pyramid Island Resort Ltd. An avid golfer, Mr. Parks retired to Vero Beach in 1990, where he worked part-time at Dodger Pines Country Club. He was predeceased by his wife of 51 years, Jean Showalter Parks, and is survived by daughters Rhonda Fannin, Kim Weismann and Michelle Sechen of Vero Beach and Sharman Moore of Stanford, Ky., and seven grandsons. A memorial service will be at 6 p.m. June 17 in Community Church, Vero Beach. Arrangements by the THOMAS S. LOWTHER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY, Vero Beach.