PARKINSON, William Lynn (Judge) - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Police in Chicago and nearby cities were alerted today to watch for Judge William Lynn Parkinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals, who has been missing since late Monday afternoon. John Neurauter, acting deputy chief of detectives, said Parkinson's disappearance was reported Tuesday by the judge's son, William Lynn Jr., of Lafayette, Ind. Judge Parkinson, 57, last was seen about 5 p.m., Monday by Deputy Marshal Joseph Tennes on the near North Side near the appellate court building. Police said young Parkinson told them his father, who lives near the court building, suffers from low blood pressure and may be a victim of amnesia. Young Parkinson came to Chicago after his mother telephoned him, telling him of his father's disappearance. Mrs. Parkinson said she had not been alarmed Monday night when her husband did not return home as he often goes on overnight trips to Lafayette to visit his son. The judge was born in Attica, Ind., on Sept. 18, 1902. Admitted to the bar in Indiana in 1923, he practiced at Lafayette until 1937 when he was elected a circuit judge in Tippecanoe County. Parkinson was appointed to the U.S. District Court of Northern Indiana by President Eisenhower in 1954. He was nominated to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 21, 1957, and sworn in on Sept. 6. The younger Parkinson said his father's disappearance was not reported immediately in hopes he would show up. The judge was reported off sick Tuesday. The family said Parkinson when last seen was wearing a blue homburg hat, a navy blue raincoat, a dark gray, penciled striped suit and a dark bow tie with a trace of red in it.

Chicago - The death of Judge W. Lynn Parkinson, 57, whose body was found in Lake Michigan Sunday six months after he disappeared, has been attributed officially to drowning. Autopsy evidence disclosed today by the coroner's office dispelled all but a few shreds of uncertainty over his fate Oct. 26. Recovery of the body near the edge of Chicago's new lake front filtration plant, less than one mile from where he was last seen, apparently solved a knotty legal problem of filling his seat on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The mystery of Judge Parkinson's disappearance had been heightened by reports that he was seen alive in various places from Chicago to Miami, Fla. He was known to be sick and dazed as he headed towards his home from the appeals court. Finding his glasses and umbrella handle near a subway walk led investigators to theorize he had gone walking beside the lake, apparently hoping brisk air and exercise would make him feel better. An extensive search by skin-divers then failed to turn up clues, giving rise to speculation the judge had met with foul play. His widow Elsie Ruth maintained that her husband was an amnesia victim. Judge Parkinson's son, William L. Parkinson Jr., who owns a dress shop in West Lafayette, Ind., said that his father was either "put in the lake or had an accident and fell in." He ruled out suicide, saying, "Dad wasn't the type to take his own life." Coroner Walter McCarron said his office would investigate the possibility the judge was robbed. He said no money or jewelry was found on the body. The judge reported by his family to have suffered from low blood pressure, left his office about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 to walk to his home a few blocks away. He never made it. In the next two hours, he was seen in cocktail lounges. Two men saw him stumble down an underpass near his office, where his glasses later were found. A cab driver and doorman helped him alight from a taxi at the Drake. Between 6:15 and 6:30 p.m. he was seen lurching dazed down the arcade of the Drake. Then he vanished. Because under Illinois law, a missing person may not be declared dead until seven years elapse, a problem arose over Judge Parkinson's vacant seat. Legislation was introduced in Congress to create a new one. But U. S. Atty. Robert Tieken said last night that the legislation probably will be dropped. President Eisenhower now is free to name a successor. Tieken said a man from Indiana always has held a seat in the three-state 7th District and that another probably would be appointed. Illinois and Wisconsin also are in the district. Judge Parkinson, a native of Attica, Ind., was a self-made man. Though forced to quit college, he passed the Indiana bar exam at 21 and was one of the few men on the nation's appeals courts who never finished university. He rose from Indiana courts to the U. S. District Court and 2 1/2 years ago was named to the appeals court. In addition to his widow and son, a daughter, Mrs. John Southworth of Northbook, Ill., also survive. Relatives indicated the judge's body would be returned for funeral services to West Lafayette, where he served as a circuit court judge for 20 years.