T. E. "Elton" Parkinson

Funeral services for T. E. (Elton) Parkinson, 91, of Milnesand will be at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at the Calvary Baptist Church with Rev. Brad Morgan and Rev. Wesley McAfee officiating. They will be assisted by Karen Burns and John Bridges. Burial will follow in the Mount Zion Cemetery with Gary Nuckols, Mike Chaves, Scott Watson, Richard McNally, Dathan Culpepper, John Kropp, Gary Rains, Darren Elrod, and Hugh Frank serving as pallbearers. All Roosevelt County Fire and EMS Services, Public Safety Officers and EMS Region III personnel will be honorary pallbearers. The family will receive guests at the funeral home on Tuesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Those desiring to make memorial contributions may send them to EMS Region III for the Elton Parkinson Scholarship Fund or the Milnesand Fire Department.

Thomas Elton Parkinson, known to everyone as T. E. or Elton, was born August 7, 1920, in Lorenzo, TX, to the home of Lottie and Raymond Parkinson, and passed from this life on the morning of November 6, 2011, in Portales. Elton and his family moved to New Mexico when he was just a boy. During World War II he served as a Sea Bee in the US Navy at Okinawa.

Elton was a farmer, a rancher, a welder, and land owner all of his life. In addition to his businesses and family, to quote him, Elton said that he worked hard for his community because he felt it was his duty. He was instrumental in the formation of the Milnesand Fire Department, and served as Fire Chief from 1970 until 2000, but continued to serve as a fireman and EMT until his death. Through the years, he had been the recipient of numerous EMT Awards from EMS Region III, which covers all of Eastern New Mexico. In 2010 he was given a special plaque to commemorate his 40 years of total service.

On September 3, 1939 in Portales, he was married to Ruby Williamson. He and Ruby were well known throughout the county and in 1997 he was named as Pioneer of the Year. In 2007, he and Ruby were named as Pioneer Couple of the Year. Elton had served for several years on the Dora School Board. He was a member of the Milnesand Baptist Church for many years, where he also served as a deacon. When the church disbanded, he moved his membership to the Causey Baptist Church. For the past two years, he had been a resident at the Bee Hive Home in Portales.
He is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, Jerry and Vivian Parkinson of Milnesand, and a daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Wylie Teel also of Milnesand; nine grandchildren; fourteen great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren; a brother, Truman Parkinson of Los Angeles, CA, and two sisters, Doris Dean of Hobbs, NM, and Melba Reed of Clovis, NM.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and by his beloved wife, Ruby who died December 29, 2010, after more than 71 years of marriage.

[Published in the Clovis News Journal and Portales News-Tribune on November 8, 2011]