In her Main Street column today in the Coeur d'Alene Press, Kerri Thoreson pays homage to Robert Parkinson, 46, the homeless veteran who died in a fire b/n Potlatch Hill and Fernan Hill last week:

On the first day of October, with overnight low temperatures of 55 degrees, a solitary man struggled to stay warm in the outdoors which was his home. His most valuable possessions were the papers and documents that attested to his military service and a time when he was a contributing member of society. He avoided the crowded encampment communities that have become common for the homeless here, preferring the company of the creatures of the forest. He has been described by those who knew him as humble and patient and convinced that there were so many others who needed help more than he.

A survivor of several North Idaho winters without a roof over his head, he was not without friends or people who cared. He was, however, without a mailbox or phone or transportation which made it difficult if not impossible to navigate the system to receive disability benefits from the Veterans Administration.

The plight of homeless veterans this past week took on the persona of Robert Wayne Parkinson, a 56-year-old man who died in a brush fire in the middle of the night on Potlatch Hill, in view of an interstate highway traveled by thousands every day. Invisible within a sea of humanity. Regretfully posthumous, a simple “thank you” for your service — Robert Parkinson, U.S. Army 1979-’82 — is the very least we can do. Complete Main Street column here.  (Coeur d'Alene Press file photo: Robert Parkinson places his bike on a City Link rack)

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