Résumé

At age 18, Parr worked as a traffic man for a railway in his home state of OR. Sargeant, US Army, World War II; Parr began service in the US Army on 09/17/1943, enlisting in Portland, OR. He also served in the US Army Corps of Engineers, 1951-1953; he belonged to the corps during the Korean War.

Partner, Parr and [Michael J.] Soldano, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1953-1956; Parr and Soldano had an office near a great many other architectural firms, in the Eastlake neighborhood, at 2324 Eastlake Avenue.

Principal, Roderick G. Parr, Architect, Mercer Island, WA; in 1959, Parr had an Office #210 in the Boyd Building on Mercer Island.

Principal, Roderick Parr and Associates, Bellevue, WA, c. 1968-1975.

College

B.Arch., University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, WA, 1951. Because classes were filled with World War II veterans, Parr graduated with a large cohort of 60, consisting of 59 men and one woman. The Class of 1951 had a number of notable graduates including Norman Aehle (1923-2011), Ralph Anderson (1924-2010), Robert Chervenak (1924-2010), N. Sue Harris (born 1928), Anker Molver (1922-2011) and Michael Ossewaard (1925-2016).

Relocation

Parr was born in Woodburn, OR; from the ages of 9-14 at least, he lived with his family at 983 Central Avenue in Marshfield, OR. The neighborhood had a mix of professionals, white-collar and blue-collar workers. Parr moved north to attend the University of Washington, between c. 1948-1951. His marriage license indicated that he lived in Tacoma, Pierce County on 09/11/1948. He and his wife resided at 7530 12th Avenue NW, Seattle, in 1950 (the residence of his in-laws, George and Fiona Johnson) and 1645 104th SE, Seattle, in 1955.

In 1993, he owned properties at 4039 145th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA, 98007-3107 and 3007 Hunts Point Cir, Hunts Point, WA, 98004-1009. Parr's last residence was located in La Conner, WA; he lived at 198 Suquamish Way, LA Conner, WA, 98257-9627, c. 1990. He was buried in the Tahoma National Veterans Cemetery, Kent, WA.

Parents

His father was Glenn Parr (born c. 1887 in NB), who, in 1940, worked as a "kiln man" and lumber inspector probably at the Coos Bay Lumber Mill in Marshfield, OR. His mother, Maude (born c. 1889 in OR), worked in the home raising her sons, Gregory (born c. 1920 in OR) and Roderick. According to 1940 US Census records, he completed two years of college, she, four.

Spouse

He married Glenna J. Johnson (04/09/1924-05/29/1989) on 09/11/1948 at Christ Episcopal Church, Seattle, WA. (See "Notices of Intentions to Wed," Seattle Times, 09/04/1948, p. 10.) Roderick's brother, Gregory, served as one of the witnesses. Her parents were George (born c. 1892 in WA) and Fiona Johnson (born c. 1892 in WA). He worked as a civil engineer doing bridge construction in 1940. They separated in 1975 and divorced in 04/1977.

Children

Glenna Parr gave birth to a boy at Swedish Hospital on 05/03/1950, (See "Births in Seattle," Seattle Daily Times, 05/04/1950; p. 25,) and a boy at Swedish Hospital, 11/21/1955, Bellevue, WA, (See "Born Yesterday," Seattle Daily Times, 11/21/1955, p. 38.)

SSN: 540-24-0323.