I am saddened to announce the passing of my father, Malcolm
Parkinson, just a month before his 80th birthday. He died peacefully
at home with his wife and children by his side after a year of
treatments for stage 4 cancer.
My dad was born and raised in Northern Ireland. As a young man, he
traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East. He even worked in a
kibbutz in Israel, but got sunburned and finished out working in a
carpenter’s shop in Nazareth. (He enjoyed retelling this story many,
many times over the next few decades.)
He attended the Queen’s University in Belfast as an undergrad and a
graduate student. His Doctoral dissertation was “An Expansion Method
for Calculating Atomic Properties” and it earned him a PhD.
He came to America in 1966 to attend Princeton University where he
shifted his focus to history of science.
While living in New Jersey, he met my mom, Ellen, fell in love, and
married her in 1969. We celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2019
with a family trip to Santa Fe.
My dad spent almost his entire career as a professor teaching
history of science at WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute). He
loved the academic life and sharing his knowledge with
undergraduates. We enjoyed going with him to stay in London while
his students worked on projects at the Tower of London, Imperial War
Museum, and other museums.
He also enjoyed many visits to the National Archives at College Park
and abroad to research the development of camouflage in World War I.
He was President of the Higgins Armory Museum and served on the
board for many years. He was President and also served on the board
at Briarwood and was a member of the Worcester Torch Club.
My dad loved all things beautiful: art, writing, and architecture.
He enjoyed traveling and visiting new places. He and my mom ventured
to Japan for an amazing trip with my husband and me—but his favorite
experience might have been discovering the French bakery in Kyoto!
One of my favorite times with my dad was celebrating his
naturalization with a dinner at Old Europe in Washington, DC, in
2014. He announced that he was a new citizen to the room and
received a round of applause!
My dad was supportive and proud of all the accomplishments and
adventures of his daughter and his son, my brother, Ivan. He enjoyed
talking with us and following our career and lives. He always took
the time to support us in any way we needed, from driving us around
to new apartments, meeting our friends, or just listening us work
through the various problems that we faced as young people and new
parents.
He was proud to be a grandfather to Natalie, Desmond, and Angus. (He
was also delighted when we gave Desmond the middle name of Malcolm,
carrying on the tradition from my brother who also bears his name!)
He enjoyed giving his grandchildren new books on topics he knew they
were interested in.
I could go on and on (and sometimes my dad did), but he was a person
who found life enormously interesting, who was kind, who was pleased
when he made my mom laugh too hard, and who loved to explore the
world.
We are so lucky to have many, many wonderful memories with my
father.
We will miss him so much.
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/spring/camouflage.html
Tribute from daughter Hilary.