A celebration of life service for Duane Donald Parkhurst, 78, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, at First Baptist Church of Edgewood on Houston St. Prior to the service, a ceremony with full military honors, including a three-volley salute, will be held outside.
Interment will be in Treasure Falls, Pagosa Springs, Colorado, on Saturday, June 26, at 2:00 p.m.
Mr. Parkhurst died peacefully on February 3, 2021, in Emory with wife Charlotte by his side. He was born on December 8, 1942, in Ontario, Oregon. He played football in high school and graduated in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. He married Paula Saint and joined the Army. He earned high Marksman and served as an engineer during Vietnam.
Mr. Parkhurst worked in his father-in-law’s saw mill in Wolf Creek near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, at a test site in Nevada for the government, and in underground tunneling. He worked for S.A. Healy Company for over 30 years on jobs in Lake Mead, Nevada; Washington, DC; Austin; Rochester, New York; Ann Harbor, Michigan and Dallas, receiving honors for that work.
He was the co-founder and owner of Star World Electronics in Kerrville. He helped build the Southwest Volunteer Fire Dept. on Hwy. 47 in the Flats community. He also ran the Southern Cross Tobacco Shop in Edgewood.
Mr. Parkhurst built a custom log home using his saw mill and wood from the local area. He loved riding his bike, playing dice and Texas Hold’em.
Mr. Parkhurst is survived by his wife; children, Susan Williams and husband Robert and Steve Parkhurst and wife Tina; mother-in-law, Annabel Carlson; step-children, Brenda Brown, Steve Ulrich, Tammy Parkhurst-Myers and Heather Harger; 10 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; brothers, Vic Parkhurst and wife Kay, and Dennis Parkhurst and wife Pat; sister, Carol Mercier; brother-in-law, Ray Lattin; sister-in-law, Sandy Stisser-Parkhurst and husband Danny; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Edna (Klamroth) and Lloyd Parkhurst; brother, Ricky Parkhurst, grandson, Christopher Williams; sister, Dorris Lattin; brother-in-law, Howard Mercier; stepdaughters, Bobbit Brown, Paula Saint (Walkins) and Patricia Ulrich; and best and closest friend, Brad Lee Gines.