Lawrence John Parks 1/17/1942-6/7/2013

Father, Son, Grandfather, Brother, Veteran.

Larry Parks passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of June 7, 2013. 

Larry was born in 1942 in Seattle. From a very early age, Larry displayed extraordinary talent for electronic gadgets, building his first ‘ham radio’ out of used parts purchased from an Army Surplus Store.  He designed and built workable bridges and pulleys all over his room, out of Erector and Lego sets. He delighted in helping family and friends repair TVs and radios, and bought a wreck of a car when he was 15, and repaired it to good condition by the time he could license it and drive.

Larry proudly served the country in the US Army for three years, commencing his service at the ripe young age of 17. Upon completion of his service, he worked his way through the University of Washington, where he earned a BSEE in 1969.

Between the time of his early independence and his settling down to start a family, Larry traveled the world, serving in multiple capacities across many industries. He served in Iran and all over Africa while in the Army, did offshore energy exploration in the Indian Ocean, and spent time with the natives in the South Pacific. His travels took him to over 70 countries, a fact that he proudly boasted of with a pin-strewn world map that hung in his office.

He settled in 1974 in the Renton Highlands. A talented engineer in his own right, Larry worked proudly for Boeing on the ASAT project during the 1980s. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call him a rocket scientist, though his focus was on the electronics of the system. He subsequently got the entrepreneurial bug and became an independent consultant test engineer for the FCC, a career that took him into retirement.

After retirement, he enjoyed restoring antique WWII B-29 bomber radios, ARC-5 radios and Apple Lisa computers. His quality work is prominently featured at the Museum of Communications in Seattle.

Perhaps the thing he was most proud of was his son Jeffrey, born in 1981. Through his combination of tough love and responsible tutelage, Larry was an exceptional father.

He is survived by his son Jeffrey (of Menlo Park, CA), his mother Winnie Parks-Lobdell (of Burien, WA), his sister Tina Phipps (of Kent, WA), his brother Richard (of Sequim, WA), his granddaughters Camilla and Talia Parks (of Menlo Park, CA) and his 1968 Camaro which will be cruising the roads of California upon restoration in his memory.

He will be sorely missed, and his final resting place will be in Tahoma National Cemetery.

Services will be held at 11AM on Monday, June 17th 2013 at the Edline & Yahn Covington Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations in Larry’s memory can be made to The Museum of Communications, P.O. Box 81103, Seattle, Washington 98108 (http://museumofcommunications.org/).