1977 Shooting Victim Dies

Shot, But Survived: Thirty-three years ago, realtor Dan Parks was shot three times in the face behind his downtown Santa Barbara office — but survived.

Parks, 83, a familiar figure on the sidewalks of upper State Street in his wheelchair since then, died of a heart attack at his San Roque home Sunday night. The shooting remains a mystery.

Parks was usually the first customer at the Farmer Boy restaurant every morning and spent the day visiting friends at local businesses.

“He was never down and never depressed,” his son Gary told The Independent. “Only 5 percent of people shot in the head survive.”

Parks’s family found him in the parking lot of his real estate office late at night four days after Christmas 1977, apparently hours after the shooting. Gary believes it was a botched holdup. Parks is survived by his wife, Renee, and four children. Services will be private.