Mr. William Harold “Red” Parrett ascended from his Clinton home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday evening, August 21, 2023, at the age of ninety-five. Funeral services are to be held at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi, at half past ten o’clock on Friday, August 25, with burial to follow at Pine Bluff Cemetery in Dentville, near Hazlehurst. Dr. Greg Belser will conduct the service. Visitation will be Thursday evening, August 24, from five to seven o’clock at Morrison Heights. Pallbearers will be Sam Soverns, David Jolly, Jared Soverns, Franklin Jolly, Marvin Ashley, and Lamar Ashley. Honorary pall bearers will be Andy Ashley, Jason Ashley, Chad Wallace, Brian Smith, and Owen Hearn.
“Red” Parrett was born in Dentville, Copiah County, Mississippi, on November 21, 1927, and married the former Linda Faye Ashley on February 10, 1961. Together, they raised two daughters, Alisa “Lisa” Marlene and Teresa Reshea.
Though he held other jobs, Red’s primary career was as a welder. He worked for a combined total of nearly thirty years at LeTourneau in Vicksburg and also welded at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula and for AMF Beaird in Shreveport, Louisiana. After retirement, for several years he assisted his brother-in-law, John Ashley, with land surveying and also helped his nephew, Lamar Ashley, in traveling to restock spices in grocery stores. He had also farmed in Dentville before becoming a welder
Though a man of few words, Red was a man of great faith and was a kind and generous man. He grew up at Pine Bluff Baptist Church in Dentville, then began attending Immanuel Baptist Church in Vicksburg when he moved there in the early 1960’s. He went to Summer Grove Baptist Church for the few years he lived in Shreveport before moving back to Vicksburg and attending Highland Baptist Church. He has been a member of Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton since moving there in 1994 and had served there for many years as an usher as well as serving on numerous mission trips.
Red loved the outdoors and loved watching westerns. Red “liked being out in the woods, especially on a crisp, autumn day,” according to John Ashley. He enjoyed hunting gardening, helping Linda with her flowers, and going to work out at the Baptist Healthplex; he was still mowing his own grass well into his nineties! He and Linda also loved to travel and took many worldwide cruises and loved attending gospel singings.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Ira Alvin and Maude Judge Parrett, brother Herbert Eugene “Buddy” Parrett, and sisters Ina Louise Lee, Ruby Lois Carlisle, Joann Colwell, and Janet Elizabeth Wright. He is survived by his wife of over 62½ years, Linda Parrett; daughters Lisa (Sam) Soverns and Teresa (David) Jolly; grandchildren Ashley (Ricky) Hearn, Jared (Sarah) Soverns, Franklin Jolly, and Alana Jolly; great-grandsons Owen Hearn, Colin Hearn, Ransom Soverns, and Bridger Soverns; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The Gideons International, the Baptist Children’s Village, or the Morrison Heights Baptist Church Mission Fund.
To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of William Harold “Red” Parrett, visit the
Tribute Store.
.jpg)