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- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
July 3, 1995
William Metcalf Parkin Jr.'s family history was irrevocably intertwined with Pittsburgh's industrial heritage. Mr. Parkin's grandfather, Charles Parkin, came to Pittsburgh from Sheffield, England, in 1860 after Andrew Carnegie invited him here to help develop the region's steel industry. Charles Parkin helped found the Miller, Metcalf and Parkin coal company.
William Parkin Jr., 85, who died of pancreatic cancer Saturday at Forbes Hospice in East Liberty, later recounted to family members his visits as a young boy with his grandfather to see miners at work. His own contribution was in running the Parkin Chemical Co. in Lawrenceville with his brother, Frederick Haskell Parkin. The company, which specialized in the chemical treatment of steel, was started by his father, William Parkin Sr. It is headed today by Mr. Parkin's nephew, Peter Parkin.
Mr. Parkin was one of three children who grew up in the family's Hampton Street home in Highland Park. He attended Fulton School, then Peabody High School for one year before enrolling at Shady Side Academy. After high school, he attended Princeton University with the intent of preparing himself for the family business. According to his daughter, Anne Pierpoint of Flemington, N.J., Mr. Parkin enjoyed playing the piano and at Princeton played in a makeshift band that included future star and fellow Western Pennsylvanian Jimmy Stewart.
In 1945, he married Helen Mar Goulding, and they raised two daughters, Pierpoint and Helen Mar Haven Parkin, of Milford, Ohio. His wife died in 1992.Mr. Parkin also is survived by a granddaughter, four nephews and his close friend, Nora Sullivan.
In addition to his duties as president of Parkin Chemical, Mr. Parkin did volunteer work with the Boy Scouts and was active in the Longue Vue Club in Verona.
Following his retirement in 1975, he was active in a retirement group called The Idlers and was past president of the Park Plaza Condominium Association. He also was a supporter of the Jane Holmes Residence, a Swissvale residential nursing center for the elderly.
Up until a few weeks ago, Mr. Parkin would still play the piano daily for an hour or so, and he particularly enjoyed the music of George Gershwin and Cole Porter. "He never wanted to be noticed, but he was always so cordial and so kind," Sullivan said.
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1910 - 1995 (85 years)
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