Elton Allen (E. A.) Park

Elton Allen (E. A.) Park, age 94, of Abilene, TX, passed away on March 3, 2025 in his hometown of Abilene.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, March 7, 2025, at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, located at 6449 Buffalo Gap Road, Abilene, TX 79606. Ernie McLean of Elm Creek Baptist Church officiating. Services are under the direction of The Hamil Family Funeral Home.

Elton was born in Tahoka (Lynn County) Texas, to Edgar Amzire Park and Edna Mae (Piott) Park on December 25, 1930. He went to school in Tahoka. After graduating from Tahoka High School, he attended McMurry University (formerly McMurry College) in Abilene, Texas, where he met the love of his life, Nelda June Nash Park. They married on October 7, 1950, in downtown Abilene.

Elton was a veteran of the Korean war and served in the Army, where he was an instructor in Electronics Engineering at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. He excelled as a pistol shooter and successfully represented his unit in many nationwide matches. He was a retired electronics technician, having worked for Abilene Boiler Co. (ABCO) for many years. He also worked for C. G. Conn, Easter Machine, and Lockheed Martin. Elton was a Methodist and attended a local United Methodist Church with his family.

Elton was an avid fisherman and loved taking his boat out on the lake (any lake would do) and spend all day trying different lures to find which one the fish were biting that day. The fish (and his young granddaughters) preferred the glittery lures he handmade. Elton’s grandchildren enjoyed working on projects with their Grandad in his workshop. This is a wonderful memory they share, growing up with Grandad hammering and building stuff on the back patio. After retiring, Elton loved spending time on his computer, whether tinkering with the electronics inside, or searching the web, reading articles from around the world, on any and every subject he came across. No rabbit hole was left unexplored.

Elton was preceded in death by his loving wife, Nelda, his parents, Edgar Amzire Park and Edna Mae (Piott) Park, sister, Helen (Park) Ellis, sister, Louise (Park) Dietrich, brother, Thomas Natt Park, nephew Steve Ellis and his wife Glenda.

Survivors include his 3 children: son Allen Park of Abilene, daughter Melissa Park of Abilene, and son Doug (Beth) Park of Ft. Worth; grandchildren, Amanda Sneed, Jeremy Park, Megan (Stormy) Ferrell, Jennifer (Cody) Brown, Thomas Park, and Stephen Park; his great grandchildren, Lista (Brandon) Stewart, Kam Sneed, Jade Canales, Damion Park, Ronan Park, Mack Ferrell, Lane Brown and Emmitt Brown; and his great-great-granddaughter, Kinlin Stewart. Elton is also survived by his sister-in-law Pat Park; nieces, Judy (Randy) Erickson, Cindy (Trent) Leverett, Frances (Claude) Wortham, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

The family of Elton Park wishes to extend our sincere thanks to all the wonderful caregivers at Windcrest Alzheimer’s Care Center, Hendrick Hospital South, and Hendrick Hospice Care.

Memorials may be made in his name to:

Alzheimer’s Association at  https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=51079&51079.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&gad_source=1

or to Hendrick Hospice Care in Abilene at https://www.hendrickhealth.org/services/hospice-care/give-now/

or to The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation – Inland Fisheries Management at https://secure2.convio.net/pwft/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app20121a?df_id=1620&1620.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=0B8F8EAE12488C89F50FA9A4D9113BC1