PARKS, William Robert

Arizona Daily Star (Tucson AZ) Thursday, April 23, 2015 William Robert "Bob" Parks and Barbara Bleakly Parks A Memorial Service was held April 11, 2015 to honor the memory of William "Bob" Parks and his wife, Barbara Bleakly Parks who lost their lives April 3, 2015 in a tragic car accident near Wickenburg, AZ. They had lived in Tucson since 1991. Their immediate survivors are their son, Michael of Las Vegas, NV; daughter, Lisa Parks of St. Paul, MN; Barbara's mother, Joan Bleakly of Tucson; Barbara's brother, Tom Bleakly (Suzan) and their son, Zach, White Bear Lake, MN; her sister, Susan (Chris) Leadem of Tallahassee, FL and their three children, Rebecca (Deron) Daugherty, Chicago, Amy (Mark) Arnold, Tucson, Ben Leadem (Heather) of Baltimore and three great-nephews, Henry and Peter Daugherty and Charlie Arnold. Bob is also survived by his niece, Jennifer Mendenhal, daughter of his late sister, Cindy, and her father, Neal Mendenhal, both of Oregon. Bob was born in Indiana, December 13, 1952 to Mount and Louise Parks. He grew up in southern California and graduated from the Pomona, CA, school system. He was a noted young football player during those years. Later, he would be named captain of the football team at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. He graduated from CLU with a major in Mathematics and joined the ranks of the Kmart Corp. store management teams. Retail transfers took this young family across the southwest as he assumed management of a number of stores. [paragraph of Barbara's information] The couple were married on June 19, 1976 in Thousand Oaks. A desire to be closer to their families, the couple, after a number of transfers with their young children, Mike and Lisa, decided to change careers and settle in one community. Arriving in Tucson in 1991, Bob launched a new venture with Farmers insurance establishing an office on the east side of Tucson while Barbara joined the staff of Childtime Learning Centers. She held various positions during the more than 20 years with the company from part-timer, school director, District Mgr. thru her most recent position as Auditor/Subsidy Specialist for all of the schools in Southern Arizona. Both Barb and Bob were U of A Wildcat sports fans. Bob was an avid desert photographer and gardener. Barb was well known in the craft community for her beautiful hand knit children's sweaters and accessory items along with jewelry she designed. The activity both enjoyed the most however were supporting and following their children's activities in the Sahuaro High School Marching Band, Jazz band, Mock Trial, Girl's Softball, etc....never missing a performance or game anywhere through their college years. These two special people will be sorely missed by their families. Burial was at East Lawn Cemetery. Arrangements by Bring's Broadway Chapel.