Just got word from John Hays in Austin that our old friend and classmate, William R. "Bob" Parks, Class of '71, died June 17th at 66 years of age. Longtime presiding judge of the 143rd District Court in Monahans, his home town, where he was much- revered. Bob was SA president during tumultuous times in '70 and '71, wherein he did a marvelous job of keeping the peace between university admin and various fractious student groups. Our admiration and affection for Bob endured throughout the years. Bob wasn't in the greatest of health for some time, with diabetic issues, but John says it was a bout with colon cancer, diagnosed in March, that was the cause of death.

Bob Parks...scholar, gentleman, jurist, friend. Vaya con Dios....

Nice pic follows; captures him well, albeit from quite a few years back...

Vaya con Dios, indeed.

Gets to you when one of your contemporaries passes.

What a kind man. I has the pleasure of serving with him on the board of the Association of Rice Alumni a many years ago.

A little personal story: when I passed the Texas bar exam, I made a point to ask Judge Parks to swear me in. We had to wait until his next trip to Houston, but he was honored to do it. We did it in a conference room in the RMC after a Rice meeting that he had. Judge Parks made a big production of this small act, which of course thrilled my Mom and which I found quite touching.

We were fellow west Texans, and my more recent contact with him was in a professional context. He was legendary and well respected in legal circles out here. More importantly, he was a kind and good man that loved and served Rice.
I liked him a lot.