Merle Parsley

When his niece called me the other day, it had been a long, long time since I'd seen Merle Parsley. He taught next door to me for the first two years of my career at Sandpoint High School. I think he came to the high school to teach government when I was in high school myself, and I always regretted not having him as a teacher.

Instead, my sixth period senior government class was taught by a guy who never should have gone into education. Our class was a joke, and we drove him out by the third quarter. Our principal Dick Sodorff sent Leonard Anderson in that last quarter to do damage control and to salvage whatever he could in our loss of an education. Of course, Mr. Anderson did that masterfully, as he did with all his teaching.

The other seniors in the Class of 1965 probably had Merle as their teacher and they probably learned ten times as much about their government as we poor saps who lost out because of the luck of the draw in scheduling. I remember how passionate Mr. Parsley was about politics and how passionately he taught. His was an oratorical style of teaching, so much so, I often had to close my door so my kids could hear me instead of Mr. Parsley.

Merle eventually left Sandpoint High School, probably to take a job in Boise, where his good friend Cecil Andrus was serving as governor of Idaho. I believe that was after Merle had served in the Idaho Legislature, representing Bonner County. His brother has remained in Sandpoint all these years, and I had the honor of teaching Merle's nieces and nephew.

Earlier this week, Denise Parsley Kaestner (Class of 1985) called to tell me that Merle had passed away last weekend. I have since found an obituary in the Idaho Statesman, which I'll paste below. In addition, there's a guestbook in the Statesman for friends to sign. It can be found by googling Idaho Statesman obituaries.

Merle was a great man who accomplished much and who inspired so many young people as well as folks who had the privilege of working with him and just knowing him as a friend. I'm glad that I was one of those, if only for a brief time. My condolences to his family. His obituary in the Statesman follows:

Merle David Parsley passed away Sept. 15, 2007. A memorial service will be held Thursday, Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Boise Idaho (2612 State Street). Interment to follow at Dry Creek Cemetery (9600 Hill Road). A reception will follow at the Turf Club at Les Bois Park. A vigil will be held 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 19 at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Merle, the youngest of six children, was born April 8, 1936 in Ambrose, N. D. He was the son of Margaret (Stepp) and Glen Parsley and a graduate of Ambrose High School where he was known as the "Ambrose Flash". He graduated early from high school and received a B.S. from Minot State College. Merle joined the U.S. Air Force, was stationed in Formosa, and was honorably discharged in Nov. 1961. He married Judy (Kelly) from Minot, N. D. in June 1961. The newlyweds journeyed to Northern Idaho and spent their honeymoon operating a look-out tower for the U.S. Forest Service. While in Northern Idaho, Merle held various occupations including High School history teacher, school bus driver, and realtor. In 1964 he was elected to serve as representative for Bonner County. In 1966, he was elected to serve as Senator for District 1. His seatmate, John Quinn, described him as "a drop of water on a hot skillet - lots of sound and action, but not much getting done." His record shows otherwise as evidenced by his years of service to the State of Idaho. He was instrumental in passing several bills including a bill implementing the Star Garnet as the Idaho State gem. He also sponsored the bill to institute a mandatory requirement for the infant blood test (PKU) for every child born in Idaho. Because of his dedication to the people of District 1, he earned the nickname, "Governor of Northern Idaho." Merle and Judy decided to settle the family in Hope, Idaho to raise their five children: Pete, Kelly, Mike, Bob, and Tom. In 1976, they moved the family to Boise so Merle could advance his professional career in state government. Secretary of the Interior, Cecil D. Andrus, appointed Parsley to serve as the Key Advisor for the Pacific Northwest Regional Commission from 1977 to 1981. He also served as the Special Assistant to Governor Evans from 1981 to 1984. He was then appointed Manager of the State Insurance Fund and held that position for over ten years. After retiring from state government, he enjoyed owning and racing horses, and he served as Clerk of Scales for Capital Racing at Les Bois Park. Merle was the instigator of many unique small business ventures such as "Iron Mike's" burger restaurant, Superwash car wash, and bred several lines of dogs and race horses (Stables at Kerry Cove). He also spent much of his retirement traveling with his wife and grandchildren. He had the opportunity to travel with Judy to Ireland on several occasions and the two of them took the grandchildren to Seattle, Northern Idaho, Canada, and North Dakota. Throughout his life, and even into retirement, he remained an active participant in the Democrat Party. He is survived by his wife, Judy, of 46 years; his brothers Deane (Rosie) of Minneapolis, Darrel (Hazel) of Sandpoint, Idaho, and his sister Marie (Arden) Hanson of Crosby, N. D. He is also survived by his sons Peter (Kelly), Mike, Bob (Christine), and Tom (Heather), his daughter Kelly (Jeff), and seven grandchildren: Kory Parsley and Matt and Zach Landrem, Maggie and Melanie Morris, and Skye and Katie Parsley. Other family members include Tam-O'-Shanter, Mikey, Erin and five puppies. He is preceded in death by his parents Margaret and Glen Parsley, and his brothers Bobbie and Dale. His sense of humor, love of life, and commitment to his family will be deeply missed. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Idaho Humane Society.

Postscript: When digging for past information, sometimes we have to turn over a rock or two to get the memory into full gear. After re-reading Merle's obituary and doing some rototilling in the garden, I remembered that it was Merle who represented the old Pack River Properties real estate segment and sold me a secondary lake lot on Pend Oreille. It was located near Granite Creek which flows into Granite Bay on the east side of the lake. I was familiar with the area because of my Forest Service travels around the lake twice weekly. The price was right: $6,000 and the payments would literally be a dollar down and a dollar a week by today's standards. I think I might have made $29 monthly payments. After kids started coming and realizing our trips to go stand on our lot would be every five years at best, I sold it to a lady who owned the lot next to it. I think all she had to do was take over the payments. This is why I don't do real estate. Wonder what it's worth today.