This Court concludes that George Parr's death after his nonappearance does not moot the issues in this proceeding. From then on, his story matched those of Gaitan and Briones. Outsiders donated a Corpus apartment to the couple when it was reported that they were being threatened by the accused. The boy had been spending the night at a friends house, when on the way to buy a Coke, they saw his friends relative Alex Bear, who from a crowded car invited the boys to the cockfight. In a slow, insidious shift, the couple became outsiders in the place they had called home. Only after spending a longer time in a town might one question this congeniality, see it as a courageous attempt at wishful thinking. George Parr followed in his father's corrupt footsteps They certainly werent expert bird handlerssomeone had to go back into town to find a person who knew how to put metal gaffs on the roosters legs. Garzas criminal record begins with a 1983 theft indictment. As news accounts of the crime increased in number and intensity, hate mail poured into San Diego, like the letter addressed to Whomever might possibly care in the Police Department of San Diego, Texas. A group of Banditos threatened to come to town and eliminate the rapists forever. Parr learned Spanish and was trusted by the vaqueros who worked for him on the ranch. Early on, families and friends and the defendants had begun the paint Linda Gaitan as a tattooed tramp who wore tight clothes and had been previously involved with one of the men she had accused; somehow she deserved what she got or simply invented the story to cover up an indiscretion. Long ago she made peace with the conceit that the man of the house was also just another child to be pampered and soothed. [citation needed], The alliance between the Parr-controlled commission and the Hispanic populace made the county a bastion of Democratic strength. In this town of five thousand, everyone belongs. PORTLAND - George Douglas Parr, 71, of Portland, beloved husband of Kathleen and father of Zack and Jimmy Parr died unexpectedly in the early hours of Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, in Naples,. She is, actually, afraid to go outside at all. Mr. Parr was born in Eutaw, Alabama and put himself through University of . Once there, the boy noted the arrival of Garza and the others and saw Linda Gaitan struggling to get away. All rights reserved. Julie Parr Obituary (1937 - 2023) | Columbus, Ohio - Echovita George Russey Parr III was born October 23, 1940, in Amarillo, Texas, to George Russey Parr Jr. and Zua Gae Warner Parr. The definitive guide to Portland's food scene. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. In tiny San Diego (pop. He was an opponent of Catholic emancipation . A white horse, loose from the field, poses no inconvenience as it prances down a main street; instead cars fall into line behind in an impromptu parade. She enjoyed it.. I dont want to go back there, she insists, an urgent hatred wrapping itself around the syllables. After college, he served as an officer in the United States Army. He played end on the football team. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. In 1945, Duval County commissioners gave Parr $662,000 to buy the 55,000-acre Dobie ranch, a loan never repaid. In 1950, Parr had become a thorn in the side of Governor Allan Shivers and Attorney General John Ben Shepperd. Loyal to their friends, afraid of reprisals (it is somehow revealing that the person most vocal in his support of the Gaitans was Richard Yaegar, a semiretired soldier of fortune with little family left in town), the citizens of San Diego turned inward. George Parr Watts July 15 1939 January 12 2022 (age 82) He was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 15, 1937. He has since been removed as Duval County judge and his 10yearterm is under review by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The shame of San Diegoans felt at their decades of submission would be forgotten. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I suggest to Frankie that we leave, and he agrees, reminding us that Torres was once in a knife fight with a kid at school. As in the New Bedford case, the accused who admit to having sex with Gaitan allege consent. Any follower of Duval County or Texas politics is familiar with the name of George B. Parr, the patron and political kingmaker. March 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? The people would not speak out against one another, and in refusing to choose sides, they chose one: Linda Gaitan had no family in Sand Diego, her husband had some but little compared with the defendants. George Rembert Parr, Jr. Moncks Corner - George Rembert Parr, Jr., 63, of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, husband of Kathleen Barrett Parr, died Friday, December 22, 2017. They were going to catch me anyway is the way he explains his confession. County in the heart of the south Texas triangle, a team of sheriffs, According to the womans statement and those of witnesses, Roel Torres, a long-haired man with a fierce overbite, mounted the woman, as did Ruben Vela, a twinkly-eyed 22-year-old with a halo of black curls and a pregnant wife at home. George Pretyman Tomline - Wikipedia Although detractors of the mildmannered political boss often accused him of violence, his supporters contended that he was generous with gifts to the sick and needy and had helped the uneducated and poor MexicanAmericans of his area. Eventually the Parr empire collapsed, but the people of San Diego clung together even more fiercely in the aftermath. Although she hasnt eaten all day, she spends thirty minutes letting her children play on the mechanized toysshe smiles when Frank Junior grins in a car that shudders down an imaginary highway, and she giggles and pats his belly when he leans out of a rocket that twists four feet off the ground. Finally, because she was scratching him, Garza told Briones to hold her down. His father was Archer "Archie" Parr, a prominent local political boss. George Berham Parr - Wikipedia Save some for me, Corando Perez, a slight young man possessed of manic energy, told Garza and then, impatient, got into the car and started to have sex with the woman. San Diego has wrestled with darkness for most of its life. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Sometimes she blacks out while she is talking to Frankie: The gang rape comes into her mind, her mouth tightens, and she seems to leave the room. Built by shines & jecker labs, A new East End bar opened this week. Children whose parents tried to fight Parr couldnt sell their stock at 4-H clubs. Over the years he has shifted his focus from politics to criminal lawAlaniz has represented some of the gang-rape defendants before on drug-related charges and now represents five of the accusedbut he remains a powerful reminder of the old ways. She would have liked to have become a cop, she would like to learn to read. When he does see someone he knows (Orlando Garzas brother was a recent shopper), Frankie runs to another part of the store, which gets him in trouble with his boss, who doesnt understand his behavior. George Parr, 71 - Portland Food Map In fact, a few local roads do lead north out of town. George Parr Obituary (1940 - 2022) - Legacy Remembers It is a place rich only in time: the oil boom that fleetingly livened the South Texas towns of Freer to the west and Alice to the east bypassed San Diego. As he speaks, his eyelids droop and his voice drops from a growl to a slow, weary rumble; he seems to be a man whose mission has finally drained him. It is Roel Torres, one of the men accused of raping Linda. Six months later Mr. Parr and 10 codefendants were convicted by a Federal court jury in Houston of charges of using the mails to defraud the Benavides school district of more thn $220,000 in tax funds. He was elected to the Duval County Commissioners Court in 1898. Beneath the surface runs the age-old assumption that men are weak-willed and women corrupt. Stevenson and Johnson advanced to a runoff election. He was also a partner and silent partner of dozens of businesses in South Texas. shines & jecker labs logo Parrs Chrysler, the bloodstains cleaned away, sits in the garage with hundreds of deer mounts, triumphs from his hunting trips. The fourth, a thick, barrel-chested man with pale-brown eyes named Orlando Garza, stayed in the car with the woman. That year he was elected county judge of Duval County. One man was charged with murdering his wife and son, the son of a leading citizen had committed suicide. No Linda. He had two daughters. Faced with a weak case, the DAs office struck a deal: Chews charge was plea-bargained to possession of marijuana. Parr was robbed and his car was stolen. He and his wife, Linda, had gone to a family barbecue at his uncles trailer around the corner that Saturday night, and as usual, Frankie, a 23-year-old tattoo artist, had talked and laughed and drunk with his relatives while his 19-year-old wife remained more subdued. In San Diego he belonged. It got out of hand was the most frequently offered assessment of the crime. Frankie grabbed hold of his tie and warned him not to make that joke again. It was the home of George Parr, and it is for sale. Police officials said the body of the 74yearold Duke of Duval was slumped over the steering wheel of his car. Only two rapes have been reported in San Diego in the last two years, which might indicate the crimes rarity or, more likely, the rarity with which it is reported. Frankie had known Robert GarciaHim too?ever since they had been altar boys together. From his Texas certificate of death Name: Archer Parr Death Date: 18 Oct 1942 Death Place: Residence, Corpus Christi, Nueces, Texas Gender: Male Race: white Death Age: 81 years 9 months 13 days Birth Date: 25 Dec 1860 [sic] Birthplace: Matagorda Island, Tex. Frankie, his chest and arms covered with his own tattoos, has a face that is deeply lined for his age, a combination of sun, cigarettes, and hardship. When their heretofore political ally Robert Kleberg, Richard's brother, refused, George replied in anger. He wouldnt let you breathe, one citizen said. It was possible to see in the courtroom seating arrangements portents of divisions to come: Briones sat alone, apart from his friends, worrying a weather-beaten hat between his splayed legs. The accused were powerfully bound together, not just through blood, marriage, and time but also by their pride in their role as tough guys. Theyre not bad guystheyre assholes, he tells me, using pachuco logic; to give his former friends credit for the evil they are accused of is to elevate them to a powerfulness they do not deserve. In San Diego, the Gaitans lives had been on a fixed, if predictable, course. But then, in a mysterious plague, the sheep began to die, taking with them the towns vision of a glorious future. There was, however, a glimmer that all might not go as predicted. Two of the women who had been at the Perez house appeared; growing more agitated, Frankie warned them that if anything had happened to Linda and they knew it, they would live to regret it. George Parr, the founder of Upstream Trucking, passed away at the age of 71. On the way back home, the Gaitan are silent. Alex Bear, Corando Perez, Orlando Garza, Felipe Chew, and Roberto Garcia were charged with sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping. Arrests came slowly. The town had taught the men that they would not be held accountable; there was no reason for them to fear harsh judgment for anything they did. That the money came from the country treasury (and that Parr regularly helped himself to it) was of little importancefamilies could keep their land, their way of life, their identity. He entered the University of Texas Law School in 1923 as a special student, but again left without taking a degree. SAN DIEGO, Tex., April 1George B. Parr, political boss of Duval County, Tex., and a former millionaire oilman, banker and deputy sheriff who was facing a prison term for income tax evasion, was found dead today in a pasture of his South Texas ranch with a bullet wound in his head. But the curse of San Diego is found not in the cruel mixture of poverty and passion but in its own hunger for accommodation. They made it into a crisis.. Georges burial was at the Alabama National Cemetery on December 23, 2022. Seven cronies received prison terms. In his statement, Frankie told law-enforcement officials that Ruben Vela bragged to him and Roel that he had had sex with a woman at the Gallegos ranch. Frankie is the only surviving child of a widow who cleaned the church for a living; his father died when he was a boy. Eventually, unable to stand the womans screams, Briones tried to stop his friend: I said leave her alone, because she was crying and yelling, but the guys got mad and almost got into a fight with me. Finally after the woman fainted, Garza told Garcia to take her away. One of the two was a Parr special deputy. Their courtship, Frankie says, shaking his head, grinning, and dragging on a cigarette, wasnt all champagne and wine. He met Linda after a basketball game, when he bet a friend his last cigarette that he could get her to tell him where she lived. George Parr Obituary - Tribute Archive This Court must now look at the facts above in the light of 18 U.S.C. They divorced and remarried, and divorced again in 1949; Parr subsequently married Eva Perez. He didnt mind that, after he announced he would go on to another party with his cousin Roel Soliz, Linda said she wanted to go home to check on Frank Junior, sixteen months old, and Sara, who was just four months old. Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. George Berham Parr (March 1, 1901 April 1, 1975) was an American politician, who controlled a Democratic political machine that dominated Duval County, Texas and, to a lesser extent, Jim Wells County. Most days she minds the children and waits for Frankie to come home from his donated job at a department store so she can eat and sometimes go to the counseling crisis center. Criminal prosecutions of Parr and allies were blocked by control of the prosecutorial and grand jury process. The cameras whirred, and the news that a nineteen-year-old mother of two had been raped by upward of twenty neighbors at an illegal cockfight in San Diego, Texas went out not just all over the country but all over the world. Investigators followed a trail of corruption. Established law was something Parr cut to fit his needs: Anglo ranchers tried to roust him by convening a grand jury in 1914 to investigate his abuse of county funds; months later a mysterious fire engulfed the courthouse, destroying records that would have been used as evidence. The people learned what he wanted them to learn; when the American Legion campaigned to raise the countrys literacy rate, Parr abolished Duvals veterans training program. The truth will come out at the trial, I was told with great assurance by defense lawyers and other champions of the accused, a curious sentiment for a town that has always viewed the law with a jaundiced eye. A young man who picked up the extra money by mowing the lawns of his parents friends, he was, in the words of many, the shyest, sweetest boy youd ever want to meet. His mother, who worked at the First State Bank, was a deeply loved member of the community. Whatever it was, she had fun with it. They viewed the proceedings with moderate interest, scratching, stretching, yawning; they were like men slipping into old, familiar rolesdefendants before a legal system that has let them off before. George Parr 1807-1884 - Ancestry George Parr Birth 20 Sep 1807 - Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England Death Jun 1884 - Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England Mother Sarah Rockley Father Joseph Parr Quick access Family tree 48 New search George Parr family tree Family tree Explore more family trees Parents Joseph Parr 1783 - 1856 Sarah Rockley He was afraid to go outside. The pertinent language of these cited authorities is attached hereto as Footnote 1. Linda pulls her daughter close and winces from the pain that has returned to one side of her head. Frankie would hitch a ride to her ranch every weekend, or he would mail her pictures he had drawn on handkerchiefsof the Virgin, of two horses rearing, of an eagle flying. marshals, and Texas Rangers was closing in on its man. Now, in the town of the Parrs corrupted, a savage gang rape has resurrected the old ghosts of lawlessness, fear, and betrayal. She couldnt think straight. Alanizs hair is blacker now that it was in photos in the fifties, but that small vanity cannot obscure the weariness in his face and voice. Sometimes, when he had money, Frankie took his wife to Jerrys Diner for a night on the town. He applied for a presidential pardon in July 1943; U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle blocked it in part because Congressman Richard M. Kleberg opposed the pardon. Parr attended a variety of post-secondary educational institutions, each briefly, and without completing a degree. Being from San Diego, he can accommodate his own homesickness and his nager at what happened to his wife; he is pulled back by a powerful psychic tidefor a few days each month, for Memorial Day, for Fathers Day, to have the baby baptized. Uneasy, Frankie went back to his uncles house to round up his cousin and set out in search of his wife. George married Unknown. The biggest house in San Diego sits on the road to Benavides, just a short distance from the spot where the town gives over to the brush country to the southwest. If your aunt was sick or your son needed money for schoolbooks, you went to Mr. Parr. Other defendants had histories of violent crime. Family and friends must say goodbye to their beloved Julie Parr of Columbus, Ohio, who passed away at the age of 85, on April 25, 2023. The two men exchanged insults. The two had known each other for some time, but tonights was not a friendly outing. Mexican men always have something on the side besides their family, A woman from an old Hispanic family told me. Garza, Soliz, and Corando Perez sat in the back but at some distance from Torres and Vela, who are not burdened with kidnapping charges. In its heart, it is a Mexican town begrudgingly located in Texas. His mother came in, checked the window, and took him into her room to sleep, promising him that they were safe. The cause of death was not disclosed.". Finally he began forcing her to have oral sex. Archie Parr retired from politics in 1934 and moved to Corpus Christi, where he lived on Saxet Drive. Stevenson showed up at a bank in Alice which had the precinct boxes. His mother misses him, and he misses his friends, who thought of him as kookya sweet guy.. Linda was a pretty enough girlpale with shiny black hair, an inviting smile, and a nice light in her eyesbut because she wasnt from San Diego, she wasnt much of a talker. Garza caught her, however, threw her on the hood of a car, and began raping her again. Julie was preceded in death by her infant son, Tommy, her parents, and her husband Ed. George Christopher Parr , age 85 of Hoover, Alabama passed away on December 20, 2022. Department of Public Safety highway patrolmen had apprehended Chew after a motorcycle chase; later, when officers returned to the scene, they found a packet of the drug. In 1958, Parr was found guilty of mail fraud by a federal jury and given a 10-year sentence. Frankie may be the head of the household, but Linda has always been responsible for sustaining it. All but two were swiftly released on bond. Others who did took their lives in their hands. The defendants began driving by his house, calling his sisters names like masota (big mama). Sometimes some of the accused could be seen near the junior high playground. George White (artist) - Wikipedia Other defendants had close ties to local government and law enforcement. Finally, Frankie curses and sighs from the back seat. In 1914, when Parr was elected to the state Senate, he took his 13-year-old son, George Berham Parr, with him Austin to serve as his page. He is preceded in death by his parents George F. and Corinne (Snooks) Parr. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/02/archives/texas-politician-dead-ruled-suicide.html. They had 9 children: Henrie Parr, Wilmote Parr and 7 other children. John Parr 1839-1901 - Ancestry TSHA | Parr, George Berham [1901-1975] - Handbook of Texas Hearing the news, Frankie walked out the door into the street, and yelling loud enough to wake anyone who dared to sleep, swore that he would get even. The pardon, restoring Parr's civil rights, was granted on February 20, 1946. The MexicanAmerican population represented the basis of his political power. He enjoyed traveling to Europe and ocean cruising. A Legacy of Evil - Texas Monthly The Parr Machine maintained control of Duval and Jim Wells counties despite the legal and political backlash. I just dont know what happened.. 46% alc./vol. That marked the beginning of a long relationship between Parr and Duval County. For five days after the runoff, Stevenson appeared to hold a 112-vote lead. I dont think these guys were bad guys, police chief Oscar Hughes told the Houston Post. Visitation is before the service at 10:00 a.m. She was sixteen, he was twenty. But what looked like another victory for the Anglos was actually the beginning of the end. Roberto Perez faced a charge of sexual assault and two charges of aggravated kidnapping. The event wasnt a typical South Texas cockfight. The majority of these good boys from good families had had problems with the law. Over the next two years Linda and Frankie had two children, and the days blended together. Finally, when her husbands fury seemed more menacing than her attackers threats, Linda Gaitan told him she had been raped. Linda did well in school in Irving but was more distracted in South Texas (Boys, she says sourly. His family has been in San Diego for generations, and a brief job in Irving served only to convince him that San Diego was the place for him. He did not impose his morality on anyone, because he had no morality, one former San Diego resident told me. With the end of the Johnson administration in 1968, Parr lost his primary political protector. Jake Floyd, an Alice attorney, was a leader of anti-Parr forces in Jim Wells County. In February, 1957, Mr. Parr was adjudged bankrupt by a Federal judge in Corpus Christi. Later Frankie gave his wife a tattoo on her shoulder, Soy GaitanIm a Gaitanit said, over a rose that bloomed. Early life [ edit] Rebecca Ann Parr Obituary (1926 - 2023) | Bremond, Texas - Echovita Torres ambles forward until he is directly behind us. In 1932, George was indicted by a federal grand jury for income tax evasion. She looked at him and looked at Roel. A portrait of the couple hangs over the bed. . Bald palm trees lean in toward the house; a brick fence encloses a swimming pool. She is simply a sturdy, pigeon-toed girl who wears that air of stolid resignation common to poor women who, raised to expect nothing, get even less. John Spong writes primarily about popular culture. But now here was his mother, giving him nothing but a confused look, and no Linda. Unlike her husband, Linda has the curiosity of someone who has not given herself to only one place. Roberto Perez, who dumped Linda Gaitan by the railroad tracks, had been indicted in 1980 on a charge of aggravated assault for shooting a man with a .22 rifle. The state investigated Archie Parr in 1914 over misuse of county funds. It is occasionally noted that no highways lead north from San Diego, a detail that seems to reveal indisputably the towns southward orientation. Although investigations into Mr. Parr's activities usually fizzled out, he did serve nine months in a Federal reformato43, for income tax evasion in 1936. He died at his house in Bloomsbury on 27 May 1732. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. After the Caller-Times wrote a story about the boy, he too became the recipient of donations and letters of supportonce more, from out of town. Him too? was all Frankie could say, as he sobbed along with his wife. Those who stay in San Diego marry young, have children, and do as theyre toldthose who do not, suffer the consequences. A leading English mezzotint engraver, he was the first to make use of etched lines to strengthen the work. Number of people There they plotted with Texas State senator Alvin J. Wirtz, Texas state representative Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr., and the Bexar County machine to defeat four term Republican Congressman Harry M. Wurzbach in the upcoming election. The machine could produce large numbers of votes, both legal and illegal, from the impoverished and uneducated working-class Mexican-Americans. San Diego spoke with silence. George passed away. Implicated in the assassination of the son of a Parr enemy, Alaniz was acquitted in the fifties. She dropped out her sophomore year and went to work in the fields to help her family. Linda, born in Irving, was one of twelve children. After dinner we decide to go to the beach. This time he ordered her to tell him what had happened.