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George A. Parks
JUNEAU, Alaska, May 12 (AP) - George A. Parks, a former territorial Governor of
Alaska, died Friday at a hospital here, two weeks before his 101st birthday.
Gov. Bill Sheffield ordered state flags flown
at half-staff on Monday in honor of Mr. Parks, who spent the last eight years of
his life at the Bartlett Memorial Hospital here. "His unfailing loyalty to our
territory and state was a source of pride for the many Alaskans who recognized
the true pioneer spirit of this man," Mr. Sheffield said of Mr. Parks.
Mr. Parks initiated a flag-design contest for
school children, from which Alaska's state flag emerged, Mr. Sheffield said.
Mr. Parks arrived in Alaska in 1907 and worked
with the United States Land Office as a mineral examiner. In World War I he
joined the Army Corps of Engineers. Later headed the Federal land office in
Alaska.
Mr. Parks was appointed governor in 1925, a
post he held for eight years. When his term expired, Mr. Parks remained in
Juneau and worked as an engineer and as a bank vice president.
Alaska's newest highway, which stretches 322
miles from Fairbanks to near Wasilla, was named in his honor.
Source: The New York Times - May 13,
1984
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