PARKS, Robert

PARKS, Robert. (Savannah, IL, April, 1941---Asbury, IA, Feb. 24, 2009). Humanitarian. Parks will be remembered as a volunteer coordinator for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in the tri-state area. He served as coordinator for over five years and in that time raised nearly 100,000 toys for needy children in a four-county area. During Christmas, 2008 nearly 6,000 area children received toys due to his efforts. Many tri-state residents knew Parks simply as "Marine Bob" or "the Toy Man." In February, 2009 Bob and his wife, Fran, received the "Youth Impact" award from Dubuque365 for their tireless commitment.

Parks had years of community involvement. He served as the co-chairman of the Dubuque County Republican Central Committee from 1978 to 1980 and was the Republican 2nd congressional district platform chair. He volunteered in fund raising projects for his church, schools, and veterans' organizations. He was a member of the Dubuque Community Schools Foundation and gave many hours to the Dubuque-All Veterans Memorial Plaza Committee. He was active in the Marine Corps League and the American Legion.

Parks joined the Marine Corps in 1959 and served as an embassy security guard in Helsinki, Finland; Moscow, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Geneva. He was a wholesale sales representative for a few years in Madison, Wisconsin and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He then worked as an insurance and investment counselor for thirty years with most of the time in Dubuque. He retired in 2001.