Earl Parsons

TORRINGTON, WYOMING...........Funeral services for EARL K. PARSONS, 91, will be held at 2pm Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Bear Creek Community Church with Pastor Richard Gilbert officiating. Burial will follow in the Bear Creek Cemetery. Friends are invited to bring their own horses if they wish to follow the horse-drawn wagon to the cemetery. Earl died at his home in Torrington on September 18, 2008. Memorials may be made to the Bear Creek Community Church, the LaGrange Fire Department, or Prairie Haven Hospice. Visitation will be at the Colyer Funeral Home on Friday, September 26, 2008 from 11am to 7pm. The casket will be closed at the service. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home. Earl was a graduate of the 1934 class of Cheyenne High School. He spent his entire life in the Bear Creek Community moving to Torrington, Wyoming just three years ago. Earl Married Helen Schliske in June 22, 1939. Together Earl and Helen designed and built their dream home on their ranch in Bear Creek where he successfully raised cattle, grew wheat, and raised his family. His land and family were his two greatest loves. Earl and Helen were fundamental in organizing the Bear Creek Guys and Gals 4-H Club. Earl was a square dance caller for the club who performed square dance by horseback at rodeos in the area. In addition, he called for local Saturday night dances in the area. Earl was a strong man who enjoyed an honest day’s work on his ranch. He often took a little time to enjoy his piece of land by horseback, on the horses he loved to raise. Earl and his family were members of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming and he made sure his family traveled the sixty miles to attend regularly. He was very involved in his community, enjoying his time on the school board, his position as local president of the Stock Growers and Farm Bureau Organizations, and his two terms as a member of the House of Representatives for Goshen County and the State of Wyoming. Earl was a hard-working man, but he had some hobbies as well. He enjoyed playing cards, pitching some horseshoes, bowling, and square dancing. In his later years he loved watching rodeos and sporting events on television. Earl married Dorothy Pace in 1981 and together they spent many winters in Arizona with occasional side trips to Hawaii. Earl is survived by his three daughters, Elaine Halstead and her husband Ron of Douglas, Wyoming, Judy Kenney of Palm Springs, California, and Bonnie Notman and her husband Jim of Knoxville, Tennessee. His legacy and the stories of his adventurous life will live on through his eight grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his birth mother Minnie Hill; his adoptive parents George and Cora Parsons; and his two wives Helen and Dorothy. Earl Parsons will be greatly missed by his family, friends, neighbors, and everyone who was fortunate to meet such a man.

Earl Parsons

September 25, 1916 - September 18, 2008