William T. Parr Secret Service Agent
(March 3, 1947-January 17, 2002)
NORWOOD--William Thomas Parr, 54, Millersville, Md., formerly of Norwood, died of natural causes Jan. 17 while on assignment in Delhi, India, with the U.S. Secret Service.
Mr. Parr, also formerly of Rockaway, N.J. and Thousand Oaks, Calif., held numerous positions during his 21-year career as a special agent for the Secret Service. He was director of the Social Security Administration’s Office of Quality Assurance and Professional Responsibility and most recently was assigned to the Environmental Protection Agency. As a result of Sept. 11 events he was appointed special agent-in-charge of EPA Secretary Christine Todd Whitman’s protective security detail.
Previously, he served on president Reagan’s detail and was promoted to assistant special agent-in-charge. He also was deputy agent-in-charge of the Secret Service Training Academy. He received achievement awards from the U.S. Treasury Department in 1982 and every year from 1984 to 1995.
He enjoyed reading, landscaping and woodworking.
Born March 3, 1947, in Potsdam, a son of Robert R. and Irene Gallagher Parr, he graduated from Norwood-Norfolk Central School in 1965. He attended the University of Dayton (Ohio) for a year and later received a bachelor of arts degree from Potsdam State University College.
He served in the Marine Corps from 1967 to 1970 with the 9th Marine Regiment and received a Silver Star, a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and six Presidential Unit citations, all for valor.
Surviving besides his mother, of Norwood, are his wife, the former Sherill M. Lawrence; a son, Derrick T., and a daughter, Christine E., both at home, and two brothers, Thomas, Virginia Beach, Va., and Richard, Norwood.
The funeral was Tuesday at Our Lady of the fields Catholic Church, Millersville. Burial was in the church cemetery.
Arrangements were with Barranco and Sons Severna Park (Md.) Funeral Home.
(Taken from the Saturday, January 26, 2002 edition of the Watertown Daily Times, page 29.)
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