Obituary: Earl Wilborn Parsons
Services for Earl Wilborn Parsons, 90, Tonganoxie, were Saturday at the United Methodist Church in Tonganoxie. Burial was in Glenwood Cemetery in Basehor.
Mr. Parsons died Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2002, at his home. He was born Feb. 27, 1912, in Basehor, the son of Ira E. and Minnie (Cameron) Parsons.
Mr. Parsons was a farmer and DeKalb seed dealer, who had been born and raised on a farm and who had farmed until 1994.
He had been a Farm Bureau member since 1936, and as of the year 2000 he was the second-oldest Farm Bureau member in Leavenworth County. He helped organize Leavenworth Co-op, where he was a board member for 17 years.
He also was a longtime member of Stranger Creek Watershed, which he helped organize. He also was a longtime member of the Leavenworth County Fair Board, the Farm Management Association and the grade school boards for Wildwood and Walnut schools. In addition, he served for many years on the Farm Program Board and was a lifetime member of Tonganoxie Historical Society and had served on its board.
He was a 4-H leader in Green Promise and 49er’s 4-H. When he was younger, he was a member of Sunflower 4-H club in Leavenworth County. Mr. Parsons donated money to construct the Leavenworth County 4-H food stand at the fairgrounds in Tonganoxie, and on Aug. 11, 1997, the stand was dedicated in his honor. For his contribution, he was given a lifetime free meal pass by the 4-H Council. Mr. Parsons also was a member and former vice president of Leavenworth County 4-H Foundation.
He had been a member of First United Methodist Church in Tonganoxie since 1951, where he served on the church board and was a trustee on the endowment board.
He contributed funds for construction of a walk bridge at Tonganoxie’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Park, and the bridge was dedicated in his honor on Aug. 10, 1996.
He married Agnes Leota Corkill on Feb. 14, 1937, in Leavenworth. She died Oct. 3, 1992. After his wife’s death, Mr. Parsons had a farm sale and moved to Tonganoxie.
Survivors include a daughter, Marilyn Kay Parsons, and a sister, Iva Fern Parsons, both of Leavenworth.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the American Lung Assn., sent in care of Quisenberry Funeral Home, P.O. Box 993, Tonganoxie, 66086.