William Amon “Parky” Parkinson

Birth: 7 Sep 1885
Broderick, Yolo County, California, USA
Death: 10 Jan 1984 (aged 98)
Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Burial: Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum

Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA Add to Map
Plot: Sec. C Lot 24 Gr 4
Memorial ID: 58447752 View Source

William Amon "Bill" Parkinson was a very intelligent, interesting and complicated man. He had many skills and interests, but possessed a restless spirit that thirsted for variety. Bill was not the type of man who could settle in on one profession. He changed jobs often, not because he was fired, but because he needed to do something new.

Bill had a gift for figuring out how things worked, was an excellent mechanic and carpenter. For many years he ran an auto repair shop and gas station, The Senator Garage, now a local historical landmark in Broderick, California. If he had gone to college, he easily could have become an engineer, but that was not to be.

He was outspoken and highly opinionated when it came to politics or civic affairs, never one to walk away from a debate. He was also brave and very strong - once beat the tar out of a man who threatened the life of one his many Chinese friends. (That incident earned him free Chinese food and a turkey every Christmas for the rest of his life!)

One of Bill's favorite things was cooking breakfast for his family. During the holidays, he concocted his own (very wicked) eggnog recipe that he served every year.

As a youth, he was sociable, outgoing, humorous, and the object of many a young girl's heart. As an adult, and even as an old man, Bill retained these traits. In his old age and widowed, he found romance in the "retirement home," and outlived his twilight years lover. Go figure... but the guy was a pistol - some say "a real character."

Fit and physically strong well into his early 80's, Bill passed away at the astounding age of 98, after a lifetime of cigar smoking and hard liquor. Just goes to show the self-described "iron-jawed bum" (from his childhood autograph book of 1899) was a very tough fellow, indeed!