Dale A. Parsons

Dale Allison Parsons rocketed from this earth on Friday, 25 March 2022. Global citizen, musician, race car driver, photographer, computer whiz, husband, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, and incessantly curious human. He was born 19 January 1949 in Houston with brown eyes and curly brown hair and started his journey around the world early. By 1952, he had moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma with his mother, Donia Lee Parsons (nee Ferrell) of Stamford, Texas and father, Reginald Ainslie Parsons of Grand Cayman. Two years later in 1954, he sailed across the Pacific Ocean with his parents and sister, Kayvonne, to live a life on the wild side in Sungei Gerong, Sumatra, Indonesia when his father took a refinery engineering position with StanVac Indonesia. As a child living in the StanVac oil camp at the edge of the Indonesian jungle with monkeys, big snakes, and other new creatures, Dale learned quickly there were always unlimited possibilities for adventure. He spoke about hearing the tigers roaring in the jungle at night beyond the camp’s perimeter “tiger” fence, and had many tales of fun exploits with his gang of friends as they hung out at the swimming pool or explored the surrounding wilderness and the wide banks of the Musi River that ran adjacent to the camp. Sometimes letting little sister, Kayvonne, come along. Dale graduated in 1962 from The Lincoln School in Sungei Gerong (Sumatra, Indonesia) and kept in touch with many of his former classmates via the biannual StanVac reunions held in Houston.

From 1962 to 1967, after leaving Sumatra, Dale and his family moved between Miami, Florida; Kingston, Jamaica; and Barbados for his father’s engineering career. Dale attended high school at Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Florida, taking flying lessons, soloing when he was 17, and also earning his scuba certification that allowed him to explore the fascinating world under the sea. During this time period, he also attended high school at the all-boys school, Jamaica College, in Kingston, a family tradition passed down through his Caymanian and Jamaican heritage. He graduated as a senior from Florida Air Academy in May 1967, and then majored in business administration while attending Palm Beach Junior College in Florida and Lee College in Baytown, Texas.

It was in Jamaica where he learned to love equestrian riding, along with his sisters, Kayvonne and Jandji, but he soon caught racing fever with a newly found enthusiasm for go-cart racing. The Jamaican Blue Mountains were perfect for a young man who loved going fast, faster and faster. As his father once quipped, “Dale managed to wreck every car I owned during our time in Kingston.”

Dale lived in 4 countries during his life (US, Indonesia, Jamaica, Barbados), and kept in touch with his family as they moved, visiting his parents and sisters in Florida, Texas, Barbados, and the Bahamas and spending time with his Parsons grandparents and 4 uncles in Grand Cayman. He spoke fondly of his earlier idyllic boyhood days laying in hammocks on the porch of his grandparent’s house in George Town, swimming in the ocean by the ruins of old Fort George that was located across from the house and the quiet times there. He continued exploring and trekking around the globe through his 20s to, what he remembered as, about 38 countries during his time on earth. His travels through Nepal and India were highlights.

Dale moved to La Porte, Texas in 1968 where he bought his beloved 1968 Shelby Cobra GT350. He loved racing it around the new 610 Loop in Houston, it was a fun trend he and his friends would take on many times in those early days.

In March 1971, soon after moving to the Houston area, he began his long association with the metals recycling industry when he signed on with Gulf Metals Industries near the Houston Ship Channel. He rose to the position of General Manager, retiring in 1996.

Living abroad helped develop his curiosity and gave him a wide perspective, he was always interested to learn more about different cultures, talk about international history and politics, racing cars, gun collecting, building computers, stamp collecting, discovering new musicians, space travel, new technology and so much more. Dale was proud to be born a Texan. He loved the Don’t Mess with Texas/Native Texan publicity campaigns, collected cowboy hats, boots, and the custom belts from Max Lang, and could dance a smooth two-step with the best of them.

His love of music and photography was planted deep in his soul – he began writing music and playing the guitar in his early teens while at Jamaica College and by the late ‘60s in Texas he was a common sight on the Houston blues scene and at the latest rock performances at Liberty Hall and other early Houston music venues that are now long gone. Through his photography, Dale captured performances by George Harrison, Crosby Stills Nash, Led Zeppelin, Billy Preston, the Rolling Stones, and many others. He also was a passionate guitar collector, owning a prized 1959 Les Paul custom, and throughout his life was always on the search for new music and new artists.

Through the 1970s to 1990s, the racing fever was still hot and Dale joined the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) to enter the Shelby in regional races. With his ever-present desire to go faster, he purchased an Elden Falconer sports car to compete in the SCCA Formula Ford events at Texas World Speedway in College Station, TX, and regional SCCA events, winning many trophies. His personal style matched the glamorous image of the sport in those days – a tall lanky driver in a white Nomex suit, Steve McQueen-style sunglasses, and a Marlboro cigarette.

He was a huge fan of the international Formula One racing circuit and the early days of the US Grand Prix events and in 1981 was thrilled to attend the Long Beach Grand Prix race in California. There, he also revisited the Queen Mary, the retired ocean liner docked in Long Beach harbor, a ship he had sailed on during childhood trips between Indonesia and the States. The 1991 movie “Titanic” brought back so many memories to him of exploring the big Queen Mary as a curious boy, somehow gaining access to areas off limits to other passengers.

He met his wife and soul-mate, Susan Bourgain in Houston in 1979, through fellow SCCA members. Their mutual interest in different cultures, foods, music, photography, and travel took them many places. Susan later discovered through genealogy research that they were, in fact, distant cousins. A fact that Dale played up with humor. The whole Bourgain family fell in love with Dale and he loved them right back.

Dale had a talent for a good conversation, as many friends and family members know so well. It was always well thought out, sometimes (more often than not) he had a bullet point list, so he wouldn’t forget to ask you about something. He was always curious, wanting to discuss new technologies, music, discoveries, politics, and always thinking outside the box. He was a supreme gift-giver, too, and his preparation for giving Christmas and birthday presents was creative and thorough, wanting to surprise the gift receiver with just the right thing that would tickle their heart or a need.

Speaking of hearts, Dale had a kind one. The humorous Bailey White stories on NPR radio always got a laugh. He also loved the Steve Hartman “On the Road” episodes on CBS News on Friday evenings. When he heard or read a story about someone overcoming a life challenge or doing kind deeds or achieving the improbable, he became an instant fan and usually retold the story with emotion and enthusiasm.

Dale had a knack for communicating with animals, fondly remembering his dog, Tejas, in Indonesia, and Chase, the big red Irish setter he loved in the 1970s. But, it was Jake the cat who was his forever pal—a big tiger-striped tabby who passed away one week after Dale. The two were bonded for 20 years and, we like to think, are now together again.

Dale leaves many loving family members behind to carry on his legacy: wife Susan Bourgain of Houston; sister Kayvonne and Jim Primm of Bentonville, Arkansas; sister Jandji and Greg Barone of Angola, New York; nephew Dion Campbell of Denver, Colorado; nephew Paul and Koral Campbell, of Houston; niece Jandji-Lynn and Steven Lynch; nephew Conner and Cassandra Barone of Great Falls, Montana; nephew Michael and Heather Barone of New York; nephew Morgan Barone of Hawaii; father-in-law Jerald Bourgain of Sterling, Kansas; sister-in-law Melissa and Robert Herduin of Spring Hill, Kansas; brother-in-law Jon and Kim Bourgain of Littleton, Colorado, nephew Jared Bourgain of Littleton, Colorado; niece Emma Bourgain of Fort Collins, Colorado, and his many cousins and his friends around the world, especially in Texas and Grand Cayman. You know who you are. Family predeceasing Dale: His parents, Donia Lee Ferrell and Reginald Ainslie Parsons of George Town, Grand Cayman; grandparents Hermann Ulrich and Willie Jewett Ferrell of Albany, Texas; grandparents Edmund Samuel and Mary Annie Parsons of George Town, Grand Cayman.

If you wish, in memory of Dale, please consider making a donation to one of his favorite charities or one of your own favorites: The Make-A-Wish Foundation; the UNICEF K.I.N.D. program (desks for kids in Malawi); or Doctors without Borders.

Celebrations of Dale’s life are planned this year in Houston as well as in Sterling, Kansas. His ashes will be memorialized in the Rockdale Cemetery in Haskell County, Texas, and the family’s Eden Cemetery on Grand Cayman.

May he forever rest in peace.