EternalMemory

Harold R. Parfitt PARFITT, MAJOR, GENERAL HAROLD R. (USA- Ret.) Career Army officer, loving husband, devoted father and friend, joined our Lord after suffering a stroke on May 21, 2006, eighty-four years into a life that epitomized his beloved West Point values of "duty, honor, country." He was a humble man who always described his career simply: "I serve in the United States Army." His service began when he graduated from West Point in 1943 as a Second Lieutenant, and he retired as a Major General and the last Governor of the Panama Canal Zone after the 1979 treaty returning it to Panama. He was wounded landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day and served his country for 36 years and three wars, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. His many honors included two Distinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merit Medals and the Purple Heart. He served as Commander of the U.S. Army Engineer Center and Commandant of The Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and was based in Dallas as Division Engineer for the Southwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He earned a Masters in Science in Civil Engineering from MIT, graduated from Harvard's Advanced Management Program and represented the U.S. Army at the Canadian National Defense College. He was married to the love of his life, Pat Rose, for almost 51 wonderful years after asking her for a first date an entire month in advance. He is survived by his wife Patricia Parfitt, daughter Karen Parfitt Hughes and husband Jerry of Austin, daughter Beverly Rose Byrd and husband Mike of Dallas, grandchildren Robert Parfitt Hughes and Leigh Doggett and her daughter Lauren, and his niece Val Unger, husband Jim and great-niece Jami. Born August 6, 1921 in Coaldale, Pennsylvania, he was preceded in death by his parents, William and Elizabeth Parfitt and brother William J. Parfitt and sister-in-law Valeria. A celebration of his life will take place at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Dallas on Wednesday, May 24, at 3:30 p.m. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, July 20. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the First Presbyterian church's Stewpot or any charity benefiting families of soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Services entrusted to: Forest Lawn Funeral Home at Turtle Creek 3204 Fairmount Street Dallas Texas 75201 214-953-0363 Family Owned and Operated www.dallasforestlawn.com Published in the Dallas Morning News on 5/24/2006. .