| Paul Parks | |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts Secretary of Education | |
In office 1975–1979 | |
| Governor | Michael Dukakis |
| Preceded by | Joseph M. Cronin |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 7, 1923 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Died | August 1, 2009 (aged 86) Mattapan, Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Alexander (m. 1947) Virginia Loftman (1972-2009) |
| Parents | Cleab (father) Hazel (mother) |
| Alma mater | Purdue University Northeastern University |
| Occupation | Civil engineer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch |  United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1943-1945 |
| Rank | Combat Engineer |
| Unit | 365th Quartermaster Corps |
Paul Parks (May 7, 1923—August 1, 2009) was an American civil engineer. Parks became the first African American Secretary of Education for Massachusetts, and was appointed by Governor Michael Dukakis to serve from 1975 until 1979. Mayor Raymond Flynn appointed Parks to the Boston School Committee, where he was also the first African American.
Career[]
Born to Cleab and Hazel, Parks attended Crispus Attucks High School, an all-black school in Indianapolis. He then entered Purdue University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, and received his Doctor of Philosophy from Northeastern University.[1] There, Parks was part of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
In 1942, Parks was drafted into the United States Army, and was subsequently sent to Europe as a combat engineer in 1943 during World War II, where he served until 1945.[2]
Upon being discharged from the military, Parks initial work experience came in the form of planning and design positions for the Indiana Department of Transportation (1949-1951), Stone & Webster (1951), Fay, Spofford & Thorndike (1951-1952), and Vought (1952-1953). He would later gain employment as an engineer for Pratt & Whitney (1953-1957). In 1957, Parks began his own engineering firm, Paul Parks and Associates, which was in business until 1967.
Parks was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers during his lifetime.
Parks was in the films Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II and The Last Days.[3][4]
Parks died of cancer in 2009.[5]
Personal life[]
Parks was of African American, Muscogee, and Seminole ancestry. Parks married Dorothy Alexander on February 2, 1947 with whom he had three children: Paul Jr., Pamela, and Stacy.[6] In 1972, Parks married Virginia Loftman.
References[]
- ↑ https://iwitness.usc.edu/sfi/Data/EchoesData/EchoesBios/PDF/Parks.Paul.pdf
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/proposalsubmitte00bost/page/n179
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662940/
- ↑ https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2012-feb-01-la-oe-perlman-dachau-20120201-story.html
- ↑ https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=paul-parks&pid=130708526
- ↑ https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=INR19470208-01.1.4
External links[]
The original article can be found at Paul Parks and the edit history here.