William Paul Parten was born July 30, 1929 in Springfield Missouri to William Samuel Parten and Neva Emmaline Parten.
Bill passed away peacefully surrounded by family on November 28, 2014. He is survived by his wife Rita of 63 years; daughters, Valerie (Jerry) Kelso, Jean (Sprague) Russell; son, Steve Parten; 12 grandchildren, 11great grandchildren and brother, Dane Parten of Gulfport Mississippi.
Bill was preceded in death by his son Fred Parten; infant daughter, Linda Gail; parents, William and Neva; brothers, Charles, Delford, and James; sisters, Maranell and Martha Sue.
“Billy Paul” moved with his family from Springfield to Washington in 1940. He attended school in Okanogan, though taking a year off in high school to help support the family while his own father recovered from a serious injury. Bill graduated from Okanogan High School in 1948 and joined the National Guard. He met Rita Roe at the First Baptist Church in Okanogan married in 1951 and began a family.
Bill was employed by the County as a Fieldman working one season on the construction of Chief Joseph Dam. Later employed in the Assessor’s office working as a draftsmen and appraiser. In 1962 and 1966 he was elected County Assessor. The family moved to Olympia in 1967 then working for the Department of Revenue and State Board of Tax Appeals and retired after a varied career spanning 45 years. Bill was a member of Kiwanis International in Okanogan and Olympia.
Bill loved projects, always remodeling or inventing a better way to do things. Building, sawing and hammering; his children, grand and great grandchildren all benefited from what ever he would whip out in a jiffy. If something didn’t work he would fix it, if he didn’t know how to fix it, he’d take it apart and figure it out. Later his interests included clocks of all kinds, mantel, grandfather and cuckoo clocks. The house was filled with ticking and gonging timepieces.
Bill’s other interests include gardening and RVing. He and Rita were members of the Good Sam RV club enjoying short excursions with friends. Bill also liked to cook. Finding new recipes to try was an interest but we could always depend on his standby pot of beans and a ham.
Above all, family was a priority and the grandchildren were his delight. He rarely used the word “no”. If the children were around, they were either on his lap checking to see what treat was in his shirt pocket or shadowing him wherever he went. He was a wealth of information and sound advice. Bill was very generous with all he had including a willingness to give of his own time to help anyone. Bill spent a lifetime making memories for others.
