Edwin W (Ed) Parkins

Edwin (Ed) Wesley Parkins 92, passed away in Sandpoint on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. A vigil service and Rosary will be held on Sunday, Sept. 30th at 7:00 PM at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. A funeral mass of Christian burial will be celebrated by Father Dennis C Day at 11:00 AM, Monday, October 1st in St Joseph’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow in the Lakeview Cemetery. Ed was born on Nov. 13, 1919 to Agnes and Charles Parkins, on Ella Street in Sandpoint, Idaho. He joined a sister Lillian and a brother John. In December, 1919, they moved to their home on the Great Northern (Baldy) Road. Eddie, and his brother John, started the first grade at Lincoln School in 1925 and went through twelve grades together, graduating from Sandpoint High School in 1937 where they both played football. In 1936 he worked for the U.S.F.S. blister rust control and was crew chief in 1937. He was also the 3:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. desk clerk at the Ponderay Hotel on Cedar Street. In 1939 he began working for J.C. Penny. In September 1940 he joined the U.S. Army, with 98 other Bonner County young men, to get their year of service prior to being drafted. While serving in Hawaii he was selected to attend Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in February 1944 and sailed from Boston to Liverpool, England. From there he was sent to Normandy, France on a LSI (landing Ship Infantry). On June 13, 1944 he landed on Omaha Beach. On August 7, 1944, while serving as a platoon leader with the 30th Infantry Division (Old Hickory) in the Battle of Mortain, he was wounded. He was awarded the Purple Heart and honorably discharged in October, 1945 as a 1st. Lieutenant. Eddie returned to Sandpoint and on November 17, 1944, he married his high school sweetheart Janet Eckman at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. In 1945 Ed became a partner with Tom Jones in the Sandpoint Cleaners. He also owned the Greyhound Bus Depot for a time and purchased two Sandpoint Laundromats. Ed and Janet raised five children together, prior to Janet’s death in 1972. Ed married Susie Zaklan in 1984 and they golfed for many years, moving to Luther Park in 2009. Ed was a 72 year life member of the Sandpoint Elks Lodge #1376, member of the Knights of Columbus, and a 68 year parishioner of St Joseph’s Catholic Church. Ed is survived by his wife Susie; his five children Patricia (Bernie) McGovern; Michael (and Susie) Parkins; Catherine Parkins; Jack (and Sharon) Parkins; Tom (and Stanley Birnbaum) Parkins; grandchildren Sean McGovern, Mary Steilen, Erin Roos, Janet DeSchryver, Sarah Pyles, Ryan Smith, Elizabeth Gonzalez, Jessica Neville, Also surviving are three stepchildren Mike (and Kay) Zaklan, Phyllis Goodwin and Rick Zaklan. He was preceded in death by his wife Janet, his parents, sister Lillian, brother John countless relatives and many many friends. Memorials may be made to St Joseph’s Catholic Church Building Fund, 601 S. Lincoln, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864; or Bonner Community Hospice, PO Box 1448, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864.