Albert (Chuck) Parkes:
CLASS OF 1963
Futrall High SchoolClass of 1963
Marianna, AR
University of ArkansasClass of 1968
Fayetteville, AR
Reno High SchoolClass of 1963
Reno, NV
Belmont High SchoolClass of 1963
Dayton, OH
Albert (Chuck)'s Story
Life
I love the South of France, Italy and Hawaii. My life mission is to play with my grandchildren. I am into action novels (Grisham, Ludlum, Clancy, Stockley, etc.), sports cars (convertibles), musicals, Razorback football and basketball, the Dallas Cowboys, and Dallas Mavericks. I love Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas. My favorite ski areas are Alpine Meadows at Tahoe and Breckenridge, CO. Unfulfilled desires are to speak both French and Spanish, learning by emersion. Pre-retirement career is to teach language arts at Lake Dallas Middle School. I love the kids. I have a strong faith in God through Jesus Christ. Christmas is the best time of the year. Spring is the best season. Family is the most important consideration. I have 2 children by my first wife and 2 by my current wife. So far they have produced 7 grandchildren, 6 boys and a girl. I have visited Europe as far as Greece and Turkey, Africa as far as Kenya and Tanzania, the Carribean as far as Barbados and St. Maarten, Mexico, Canada, and Hawaii. I wish to travel more. I have had 5 dogs, 4 lived to be 10 or more. Nothing bad like car accidents, untimely deaths in the family, severe problems with kids, divorces, severe financial problems, serious health issues etc. has ever happened to my wife and I. We recently celibrated our 46th wedding anniversary. My wife and I both retired from teaching in June of 2012. We plan to travel and play with grandchildren.
My family moved often with career moves. We have lived for one or more years in Fayetteville, AR, El Paso, TX, Phoenix, AZ, Rochester, MN, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Houston, TX, San Ramon, CA, Rogers, AR, Sprinfield, MO, St. Louis, MO, Dallas, TX. We are currently retired and live in Flower Mound, TX.
School
I attended 4 different high schools in 4 years and graduated in Marianna, AR, because my father was stationed in Istanbul during my senior year. This general disruption kept me from having a group to call my own.
College
The University of Arkansas was a wonderful place. I met and married my wife, Pamela Ray Atkinson from Pine Bluff, New York, and ...Expand for more
Paris while at the U of A. In addition to my degree, I received a commission in the U.S. Army. After the Army, I spent a lifetime in the computer industry starting with 9 years with IBM. My degree in English was not directly connected to my career, but the communications skills that I acquired or improved with all of the reading and writing required in my major, has helped me progress through a career in sales. Grif Stockley, novelist from Marianna, AR, has done the sort of writing that I would like to do myself. I respect the courage that he has shown by doing the projects that were near to his heart.
Workplace
I have spent the past 32 years in sales, sales management, and product development of computers and major software applications packages. Much of the software is for manufacturers (ERP, Supply Chain Management, and Transportation Management). I currently am enjoying a second career as a middle school language arts teacher at Lake Dallas Middle School near Dallas, TX. My teacher certification is in special education Early Childhood through 12, general education Early Childhood through 8, and English as a Second Language . All of my students are learning disabled. I love the kids.
Military
Upon graduation from college I was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army and went directly to Field Artillery school at Ft. Sill, OK, expecting to be assigned to Vietnam as a forward observer and battery grade officer. A fluke of timing caused the Army to pull several officers out of our class and send us to Ft. Bliss, TX, and Air Defense Artillery school to start the first Army unit for two new weapons systems called Chappral/Vulcan. Once we were trained and created this new unit, the Army would not let us transfer for 2 years. Thus, I spent my entire Army career at Ft. Bliss (El Paso). During my Army career, we managed to lose in Vietnam, but even more important, we clearly lost to Mexico. My father was a career USAF officer, I did my time, and my oldest son served in the USAF during the Pursian Gulf War. My attitude toward our armed forces is one of respect and pride.
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