The following tribute was written by Sherry Lee PARKS KOCIAN who was Terry's half-sister (same mother; different father). It is presented here with Sherry's permission.
TERRY CRAWFORD PARKS
My big brother! Ever since I can remember, he was looking out for me, his little sister. We roamed the hilly countryside of Kerrville, TX together as little children and never got lost. I remember him as a boy of about 8 yrs. jumping up on one of our parents' little calves and riding it around. He protected me and watched out for me when we were children.
In his adult years, the roles were reversed and I was there for him. Especially in his last several years after he lost his leg to diabetes. Terry was a very active child, very mischievous but a lot of fun. When he was around 8 yrs. old, our mother told us that Terry had a different dad. She had met Larry Crawford while he was serving in the Navy in Corpus Christi, TX. They had married and he left on assignment. She found out about six months later that Larry was also married to someone else. Grandpa Rogers helped her take him to court for bigamy and one of the conditions of his sentence was that he not be a part of Terry's life. That really affected both of us as children. Still don't know if mother should have told us. My dad later adopted Terry. Many years later as an adult, Terry made a call to Larry Crawford who had several daughters at the time. My brother was passing through the town where he lived. Larry told him to come over to his house. Terry hung up the phone and decided not to go. Larry died a few years later from a stroke. Mother had a picture of him, I remember and he was really a nice looking young man. My daddy really loved Terry though and treated him like his very own.
When Terry started driving, one night we had a football game where I was a cheerleader and my parents let him drive me and a friend to the game. While at the game, Terry made a comment to a group of boys that our team was going to win. After the game, those 4 boys forced Terry's car over to the side of the road right there by the football stadium. When he got out, they started hitting him until he fell to the ground and then they started kicking him in the head. I got out and pushed the one kicking him so that he would stop otherwise they would have killed him.
My brother was hospitalized for two weeks with a brain concussion. The boys were put in jail for about 6 months and then released. However, Terry was never the same again. He had trouble in school , he seemed angrier and doctors just didn't seem to find the problem. When he was 18, he went into the Navy and served in Vietnam. He told us that he had volunteered to be a part of a group that left the ship and that he actually fought on land in Vietnam. It was something that really affected him and stayed with him the rest of his life.
Nevertheless, he married Joanne who was a school teacher and they were married about 17 years before he died. They never had any children. Those years were his happiest. After mother died in 2005, Terry's health went downhill. He lost his leg. He couldn't seem to keep from falling and reinjuring the leg so his wife finally put him in a nursing home. He and Joanne were drifting apart, so I stepped in and helped with his care. One funny thing happened after I helped him get an electric scooter to get around on. He was going around the corner at the nursing home too fast and flipped his scooter. Wasn't hurt too bad, but we finally took the scooter from him for safety reasons. He was once again that mischievous brother of mine and I had to set him straight a few times, lol.
He began telling the nurses that he was going to go to Montana to get some wild horses. We couldn't understand what he was talking about. He wasn't senile as he was only 61. One day while I was visiting with him, he confided in me that he didn't know if he was saved or not. So, we had a long talk and he accepted Jesus as his Savior right then and there. A few days later, when I was visiting with him, he told a therapist who came into the room that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior for real this time. Later while I was doing a bible study at home, I came across the book of Joel, Chap. 2 where it talks about God's people in the end times having a spirit like that of the horses (unstoppable). I looked up and there hanging in my living room was a picture of a group of wild horses with a rainbow in the sky over them. It dawned on me in that moment, that Terry's wild horses story about Montana had a larger meaning. The wild horses were his yearning for the holy spirit and Montana was his heaven. It was so clear to me. I went and shared this with him and we cried. Several months later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, I took him home to live with me through his last days. We had a really big shop in the back of our place with a big bathroom and shower. It made such a nice little home for his last days.
I have enclosed a picture taken during that time, when we got a nice surprise. Uncle Sam's daughter, Jeanine, our cousin, whom we had not seen for many years stopped by for a visit. It made him very happy.
There was even a small garage door in that shop that pulled up where I could roll his bed out on the porch and we could watch the deer come out in the evening. He was so happy even though he knew he was dying. He lived there for about three months. We shared some of our best times together even though it was so bitter sweet. As I rolled his bed in from the porch one evening, he smiled so sweetly and happily that I thought he was looking at angels. He died the next day while I whispered the 23rd Psalm in his ear and held his hand. He was 61 years old.
Heaven will be so sweet!
At the above right is a photo of (left to right) Billy Edmond ROGERS, Terry Crawford PARKS, Ward Edmon ROGERS and Robert Lee PARKS. It was taken in Corpus Christi, Texas c1948.
At the middle right is a photo of Terry Crawford PARKS in his Navy uniform. He was a Vietnam veteran.
At the lower right is a photo of, left to right, Sherry PARKS KOCIAN, Terry Crawford PARKS, and Jeanine POZZI.
The photos are from a collection owned by Sherry Lee PARKS KOCIAN. Robert Lee PARKS was her father, and Terry Crawford PARKS was her half-brother (same mother, different father). Please do not replicate either of these photos or use either in any other way without first getting Sherry's permission and then not without identifying her as the source and the owner of the photo(s).
TERRY CRAWFORD PARKS
My big brother! Ever since I can remember, he was looking out for me, his little sister. We roamed the hilly countryside of Kerrville, TX together as little children and never got lost. I remember him as a boy of about 8 yrs. jumping up on one of our parents' little calves and riding it around. He protected me and watched out for me when we were children.
In his adult years, the roles were reversed and I was there for him. Especially in his last several years after he lost his leg to diabetes. Terry was a very active child, very mischievous but a lot of fun. When he was around 8 yrs. old, our mother told us that Terry had a different dad. She had met Larry Crawford while he was serving in the Navy in Corpus Christi, TX. They had married and he left on assignment. She found out about six months later that Larry was also married to someone else. Grandpa Rogers helped her take him to court for bigamy and one of the conditions of his sentence was that he not be a part of Terry's life. That really affected both of us as children. Still don't know if mother should have told us. My dad later adopted Terry. Many years later as an adult, Terry made a call to Larry Crawford who had several daughters at the time. My brother was passing through the town where he lived. Larry told him to come over to his house. Terry hung up the phone and decided not to go. Larry died a few years later from a stroke. Mother had a picture of him, I remember and he was really a nice looking young man. My daddy really loved Terry though and treated him like his very own.
When Terry started driving, one night we had a football game where I was a cheerleader and my parents let him drive me and a friend to the game. While at the game, Terry made a comment to a group of boys that our team was going to win. After the game, those 4 boys forced Terry's car over to the side of the road right there by the football stadium. When he got out, they started hitting him until he fell to the ground and then they started kicking him in the head. I got out and pushed the one kicking him so that he would stop otherwise they would have killed him.
My brother was hospitalized for two weeks with a brain concussion. The boys were put in jail for about 6 months and then released. However, Terry was never the same again. He had trouble in school , he seemed angrier and doctors just didn't seem to find the problem. When he was 18, he went into the Navy and served in Vietnam. He told us that he had volunteered to be a part of a group that left the ship and that he actually fought on land in Vietnam. It was something that really affected him and stayed with him the rest of his life.
Nevertheless, he married Joanne who was a school teacher and they were married about 17 years before he died. They never had any children. Those years were his happiest. After mother died in 2005, Terry's health went downhill. He lost his leg. He couldn't seem to keep from falling and reinjuring the leg so his wife finally put him in a nursing home. He and Joanne were drifting apart, so I stepped in and helped with his care. One funny thing happened after I helped him get an electric scooter to get around on. He was going around the corner at the nursing home too fast and flipped his scooter. Wasn't hurt too bad, but we finally took the scooter from him for safety reasons. He was once again that mischievous brother of mine and I had to set him straight a few times, lol.
He began telling the nurses that he was going to go to Montana to get some wild horses. We couldn't understand what he was talking about. He wasn't senile as he was only 61. One day while I was visiting with him, he confided in me that he didn't know if he was saved or not. So, we had a long talk and he accepted Jesus as his Savior right then and there. A few days later, when I was visiting with him, he told a therapist who came into the room that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior for real this time. Later while I was doing a bible study at home, I came across the book of Joel, Chap. 2 where it talks about God's people in the end times having a spirit like that of the horses (unstoppable). I looked up and there hanging in my living room was a picture of a group of wild horses with a rainbow in the sky over them. It dawned on me in that moment, that Terry's wild horses story about Montana had a larger meaning. The wild horses were his yearning for the holy spirit and Montana was his heaven. It was so clear to me. I went and shared this with him and we cried. Several months later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, I took him home to live with me through his last days. We had a really big shop in the back of our place with a big bathroom and shower. It made such a nice little home for his last days.
I have enclosed a picture taken during that time, when we got a nice surprise. Uncle Sam's daughter, Jeanine, our cousin, whom we had not seen for many years stopped by for a visit. It made him very happy.
There was even a small garage door in that shop that pulled up where I could roll his bed out on the porch and we could watch the deer come out in the evening. He was so happy even though he knew he was dying. He lived there for about three months. We shared some of our best times together even though it was so bitter sweet. As I rolled his bed in from the porch one evening, he smiled so sweetly and happily that I thought he was looking at angels. He died the next day while I whispered the 23rd Psalm in his ear and held his hand. He was 61 years old.
Heaven will be so sweet!
At the above right is a photo of (left to right) Billy Edmond ROGERS, Terry Crawford PARKS, Ward Edmon ROGERS and Robert Lee PARKS. It was taken in Corpus Christi, Texas c1948.
At the middle right is a photo of Terry Crawford PARKS in his Navy uniform. He was a Vietnam veteran.
At the lower right is a photo of, left to right, Sherry PARKS KOCIAN, Terry Crawford PARKS, and Jeanine POZZI.
The photos are from a collection owned by Sherry Lee PARKS KOCIAN. Robert Lee PARKS was her father, and Terry Crawford PARKS was her half-brother (same mother, different father). Please do not replicate either of these photos or use either in any other way without first getting Sherry's permission and then not without identifying her as the source and the owner of the photo(s).
The following tribute was written by Sherry Lee PARKS KOCIAN who was Terry's half-sister (same mother; different father). It is presented here with Sherry's permission.
TERRY CRAWFORD PARKS
My big brother! Ever since I can remember, he was looking out for me, his little sister. We roamed the hilly countryside of Kerrville, TX together as little children and never got lost. I remember him as a boy of about 8 yrs. jumping up on one of our parents' little calves and riding it around. He protected me and watched out for me when we were children.
In his adult years, the roles were reversed and I was there for him. Especially in his last several years after he lost his leg to diabetes. Terry was a very active child, very mischievous but a lot of fun. When he was around 8 yrs. old, our mother told us that Terry had a different dad. She had met Larry Crawford while he was serving in the Navy in Corpus Christi, TX. They had married and he left on assignment. She found out about six months later that Larry was also married to someone else. Grandpa Rogers helped her take him to court for bigamy and one of the conditions of his sentence was that he not be a part of Terry's life. That really affected both of us as children. Still don't know if mother should have told us. My dad later adopted Terry. Many years later as an adult, Terry made a call to Larry Crawford who had several daughters at the time. My brother was passing through the town where he lived. Larry told him to come over to his house. Terry hung up the phone and decided not to go. Larry died a few years later from a stroke. Mother had a picture of him, I remember and he was really a nice looking young man. My daddy really loved Terry though and treated him like his very own.
When Terry started driving, one night we had a football game where I was a cheerleader and my parents let him drive me and a friend to the game. While at the game, Terry made a comment to a group of boys that our team was going to win. After the game, those 4 boys forced Terry's car over to the side of the road right there by the football stadium. When he got out, they started hitting him until he fell to the ground and then they started kicking him in the head. I got out and pushed the one kicking him so that he would stop otherwise they would have killed him.
My brother was hospitalized for two weeks with a brain concussion. The boys were put in jail for about 6 months and then released. However, Terry was never the same again. He had trouble in school , he seemed angrier and doctors just didn't seem to find the problem. When he was 18, he went into the Navy and served in Vietnam. He told us that he had volunteered to be a part of a group that left the ship and that he actually fought on land in Vietnam. It was something that really affected him and stayed with him the rest of his life.
Nevertheless, he married Joanne who was a school teacher and they were married about 17 years before he died. They never had any children. Those years were his happiest. After mother died in 2005, Terry's health went downhill. He lost his leg. He couldn't seem to keep from falling and reinjuring the leg so his wife finally put him in a nursing home. He and Joanne were drifting apart, so I stepped in and helped with his care. One funny thing happened after I helped him get an electric scooter to get around on. He was going around the corner at the nursing home too fast and flipped his scooter. Wasn't hurt too bad, but we finally took the scooter from him for safety reasons. He was once again that mischievous brother of mine and I had to set him straight a few times, lol.
He began telling the nurses that he was going to go to Montana to get some wild horses. We couldn't understand what he was talking about. He wasn't senile as he was only 61. One day while I was visiting with him, he confided in me that he didn't know if he was saved or not. So, we had a long talk and he accepted Jesus as his Savior right then and there. A few days later, when I was visiting with him, he told a therapist who came into the room that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior for real this time. Later while I was doing a bible study at home, I came across the book of Joel, Chap. 2 where it talks about God's people in the end times having a spirit like that of the horses (unstoppable). I looked up and there hanging in my living room was a picture of a group of wild horses with a rainbow in the sky over them. It dawned on me in that moment, that Terry's wild horses story about Montana had a larger meaning. The wild horses were his yearning for the holy spirit and Montana was his heaven. It was so clear to me. I went and shared this with him and we cried. Several months later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, I took him home to live with me through his last days. We had a really big shop in the back of our place with a big bathroom and shower. It made such a nice little home for his last days.
I have enclosed a picture taken during that time, when we got a nice surprise. Uncle Sam's daughter, Jeanine, our cousin, whom we had not seen for many years stopped by for a visit. It made him very happy.
There was even a small garage door in that shop that pulled up where I could roll his bed out on the porch and we could watch the deer come out in the evening. He was so happy even though he knew he was dying. He lived there for about three months. We shared some of our best times together even though it was so bitter sweet. As I rolled his bed in from the porch one evening, he smiled so sweetly and happily that I thought he was looking at angels. He died the next day while I whispered the 23rd Psalm in his ear and held his hand. He was 61 years old.
Heaven will be so sweet!
At the above right is a photo of (left to right) Billy Edmond ROGERS, Terry Crawford PARKS, Ward Edmon ROGERS and Robert Lee PARKS. It was taken in Corpus Christi, Texas c1948.
At the middle right is a photo of Terry Crawford PARKS in his Navy uniform. He was a Vietnam veteran.
At the lower right is a photo of, left to right, Sherry PARKS KOCIAN, Terry Crawford PARKS, and Jeanine POZZI.
The photos are from a collection owned by Sherry Lee PARKS KOCIAN. Robert Lee PARKS was her father, and Terry Crawford PARKS was her half-brother (same mother, different father). Please do not replicate either of these photos or use either in any other way without first getting Sherry's permission and then not without identifying her as the source and the owner of the photo(s).
TERRY CRAWFORD PARKS
My big brother! Ever since I can remember, he was looking out for me, his little sister. We roamed the hilly countryside of Kerrville, TX together as little children and never got lost. I remember him as a boy of about 8 yrs. jumping up on one of our parents' little calves and riding it around. He protected me and watched out for me when we were children.
In his adult years, the roles were reversed and I was there for him. Especially in his last several years after he lost his leg to diabetes. Terry was a very active child, very mischievous but a lot of fun. When he was around 8 yrs. old, our mother told us that Terry had a different dad. She had met Larry Crawford while he was serving in the Navy in Corpus Christi, TX. They had married and he left on assignment. She found out about six months later that Larry was also married to someone else. Grandpa Rogers helped her take him to court for bigamy and one of the conditions of his sentence was that he not be a part of Terry's life. That really affected both of us as children. Still don't know if mother should have told us. My dad later adopted Terry. Many years later as an adult, Terry made a call to Larry Crawford who had several daughters at the time. My brother was passing through the town where he lived. Larry told him to come over to his house. Terry hung up the phone and decided not to go. Larry died a few years later from a stroke. Mother had a picture of him, I remember and he was really a nice looking young man. My daddy really loved Terry though and treated him like his very own.
When Terry started driving, one night we had a football game where I was a cheerleader and my parents let him drive me and a friend to the game. While at the game, Terry made a comment to a group of boys that our team was going to win. After the game, those 4 boys forced Terry's car over to the side of the road right there by the football stadium. When he got out, they started hitting him until he fell to the ground and then they started kicking him in the head. I got out and pushed the one kicking him so that he would stop otherwise they would have killed him.
My brother was hospitalized for two weeks with a brain concussion. The boys were put in jail for about 6 months and then released. However, Terry was never the same again. He had trouble in school , he seemed angrier and doctors just didn't seem to find the problem. When he was 18, he went into the Navy and served in Vietnam. He told us that he had volunteered to be a part of a group that left the ship and that he actually fought on land in Vietnam. It was something that really affected him and stayed with him the rest of his life.
Nevertheless, he married Joanne who was a school teacher and they were married about 17 years before he died. They never had any children. Those years were his happiest. After mother died in 2005, Terry's health went downhill. He lost his leg. He couldn't seem to keep from falling and reinjuring the leg so his wife finally put him in a nursing home. He and Joanne were drifting apart, so I stepped in and helped with his care. One funny thing happened after I helped him get an electric scooter to get around on. He was going around the corner at the nursing home too fast and flipped his scooter. Wasn't hurt too bad, but we finally took the scooter from him for safety reasons. He was once again that mischievous brother of mine and I had to set him straight a few times, lol.
He began telling the nurses that he was going to go to Montana to get some wild horses. We couldn't understand what he was talking about. He wasn't senile as he was only 61. One day while I was visiting with him, he confided in me that he didn't know if he was saved or not. So, we had a long talk and he accepted Jesus as his Savior right then and there. A few days later, when I was visiting with him, he told a therapist who came into the room that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior for real this time. Later while I was doing a bible study at home, I came across the book of Joel, Chap. 2 where it talks about God's people in the end times having a spirit like that of the horses (unstoppable). I looked up and there hanging in my living room was a picture of a group of wild horses with a rainbow in the sky over them. It dawned on me in that moment, that Terry's wild horses story about Montana had a larger meaning. The wild horses were his yearning for the holy spirit and Montana was his heaven. It was so clear to me. I went and shared this with him and we cried. Several months later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, I took him home to live with me through his last days. We had a really big shop in the back of our place with a big bathroom and shower. It made such a nice little home for his last days.
I have enclosed a picture taken during that time, when we got a nice surprise. Uncle Sam's daughter, Jeanine, our cousin, whom we had not seen for many years stopped by for a visit. It made him very happy.
There was even a small garage door in that shop that pulled up where I could roll his bed out on the porch and we could watch the deer come out in the evening. He was so happy even though he knew he was dying. He lived there for about three months. We shared some of our best times together even though it was so bitter sweet. As I rolled his bed in from the porch one evening, he smiled so sweetly and happily that I thought he was looking at angels. He died the next day while I whispered the 23rd Psalm in his ear and held his hand. He was 61 years old.
Heaven will be so sweet!
At the above right is a photo of (left to right) Billy Edmond ROGERS, Terry Crawford PARKS, Ward Edmon ROGERS and Robert Lee PARKS. It was taken in Corpus Christi, Texas c1948.
At the middle right is a photo of Terry Crawford PARKS in his Navy uniform. He was a Vietnam veteran.
At the lower right is a photo of, left to right, Sherry PARKS KOCIAN, Terry Crawford PARKS, and Jeanine POZZI.
The photos are from a collection owned by Sherry Lee PARKS KOCIAN. Robert Lee PARKS was her father, and Terry Crawford PARKS was her half-brother (same mother, different father). Please do not replicate either of these photos or use either in any other way without first getting Sherry's permission and then not without identifying her as the source and the owner of the photo(s).
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