William Edward Parnell

William Edward (Bill) Parnell joined his wife, Irene, in heaven October 19, 2015. Bill was born on a farm in Martin County, Texas on

June 22, 1934. He grew up in Stephenville and Sweetwater, Texas. When he was seventeen years old, he quit school after the tenth grade to enlist in

the United States Air Force so that he could fight during the Korean war. He earned his Diploma of Equivalency from Newman High School the

following year just before shipping out to Korea. Bill spent twenty-two years in the Air Force, eleven of which were overseas in Korea, Japan,Viet

Nam, Morocco, Germany, Spain and England. He retired as a Master Sergeant August 31,1973. He met his future wife, Irene Hernandez, in

December 1956 after being assigned to Luke Air Force Base. They were married in Glendale, Arizona December 28, 1957 and immediately went to

Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas and Bill spent the next five years as a Basic Training Instructor. He then trained for eight months as a missile

man and spent the next three years in Germany as a Missile Combat Crew Chief for the Mace missile. Those duties were spent in The Block House

ready to launch four Mace missiles at Russian Air Bases in East Germany and Poland. Then, it was back to the States for two years in Oregon, then

back to Germany, back to the States for a short period and then to England for four years. Bill and Irene had three sons together. Frank and Patrick

were born at Lackland AF8, San Antonio, Texas. The youngest, John, was born in Germany. Upon retirement from the Air Force, Bill, Irene and their

sons moved to Glendale Arizona and he became an Insurance Adjuster for the next twenty three years. During that time, Bill also went to college part

time and graduated from Park University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management After retiring for a second time at the age of 62,

he spent thirteen years as a substitute high school teacher for the Glendale High School District, teaching between ninety and one hundred ten days

each school year before finally retiring for good. 8U1 is survived by three sons, Frank, Patrick and his wife Alexis, and John and his wife Barbara.

Also, six grandchildren, Zack, Rachel, Jennifer, Karina, Chandler, Emma and three great grandchildren, Cambria, Aryanna and Lilyanna.