My Father, Donald M. Parrish

There are many old photos of my father that need to be scanned in and added to this page.

On this website there is a growing base of information on the ancestry of the Parrish family. It is an amazing lineage with 5 ancestors on the Mayflower, an immigrant from France in 1613 or 1615, 12 ancestors in the American revolution, many Presidential or famous (distant cousins), Mohawk Indian blood, and the second owner of the land on which the World Trade Center stood. My father even wrote a brief history of his parents.

I took this photo of my father, Donald M. Parrish, Sr. on his 87th birthday, September 8, 2001 at his home in Dallas, Texas just 3 days before 9/11. A year later, my research revealed that in 1649 our ancestor, Ariaentje Cuvilje Vigne, the Matriarch of New Amsterdam, was the second owner of the land on which the World Trade Center stood.

This is a 4 generation photo of the Parrish family taken on my father's 88th birthday (9/8/2002). His grandson Philip Charles Parrish, Jr., everyone calls him "PJ", is holding his almost 3 year old son, Cortlan Alexander Parrish. PJ's wife, Amy, took this unique photo.

My father, a bit stooped with age, is talking to his devoted, next-door neighbor, Eliseo Gonzalez at his 90th birthday party on September 8, 2004. On June 19, 2004, we attended the wedding of Erica, Eliseo's daughter, but my father wasn't feeling well because he was in a cast for a fractured vertebra in his spine.

Cortlan Parrish, my father's great grandson gives him a high 5 at the Grace Presbyterian Village nursing home in May 2005 about the time that Corlan graduated from pre-Kindergarden. Even though the room was kept about 78 degrees, my father always felt a bit cold.

This is the last photo taken of my father and I. It was taken of us at his nursing home on February 2nd in preparation for Valentine's Day just weeks before his death on February 25, 2006. See photos of his funeral and read his biographical sketch.

Two Videos

Here are two videos I took of my father. The first was taken on his 87th birthday just 3 days before 9/11. It is just over 3 minutes long (30 Mb). At the beginning are photos with his wonderful neighbors Elesio Gonzalez and his wife Juana. This is a candid video to capture my father as he is on his birthday walking outside and wondering if it is going to rain. His genial nature and warm smile are on display when I talk to him inside his home in Dallas. I was back in October to see my brother Phil and for a mini reunion with cousins at the State Fair of Texas.

When the background changes is black the video is ready to play, click on the small arrow on the bottom left side or center of the video to start. If desired, click to pause or resume.
The controls also allow a full screen show (acceptable video quality). If controls not visible, click on video window.

The second video of my father is almost 6 minutes (70Mb) long, and was taken October 11, 2001 at the home of my cousin Trina Parrish Boothe at her home in Arlington, Texas about 40 miles from my father's home. Also in this video are Trina's husband, Dr. Michael Boothe and her mother Marcia Parrish Shedden who was visiting. Marcia is my father's sister in law, the widow of his brother Kenneth Parrish. This is another candid video to capture snapshots of conversations.

Marcia mentions Trina's brother Tim Parrish and her award from the Governor of Texas for her 60 years of piano playing. Dr. Boothe talks about home improvements, and my brother Phil Parrish gives advice on home appliances and Halloween gifts. Trina talks about their daughter Ashley and her room. My father explains some of his WWII exploits in the Galapagos islands laying telephone cables. I sometimes laugh as I'm filming.

You can view the entries of my father, Donald Maltby Parrish and Charles Herbert Parrish, his brother who was killed in WWII in the WWII registery by clicking on their names. We need to get his other brother, Kenneth Ralph Parrish, who served in WWII added to the registery.