Mrs. Mary Virginia Parman's Obituary
Born and raised in Lathrop, MO, Virginia was an accomplished pianist, organist, hand-bell ringer, and long-time choir member at Central Christian Church. Her hands not only produced beautiful music for decades, they also created wonderful gifts for charity and for her family. She and her friends in the En Avant Circle of the International Order of the King’s Daughters and Sons sewed countless infant layettes given to new mothers by the Visiting Nurses Association. As veteran treasurer of the Dallas chapter of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO), she and her fellow college graduates annually raised substantial funds for scholarships and loans to American women entering colleges across the country. They also sponsored a daycare center for working moms. Born to a farm family during World War I, she graduated from Lathrop High School, where she studied with her future husband Jesse W. Parman. After graduating with an Associate of Music from Christian College in Columbia, MO, she put her hands to work by studying classical piano performance at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, where she performed recitals of major works by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Mozart. Virginia and Jesse were married in 1942. While he was in basic training, she volunteered to drive a Red Cross ambulance in Kansas City. Her hands kept that big steering wheel turning during the three years he was in the Pacific. After moving to Dallas in 1946, Virginia and Jesse began raising their family. Looking for a church home, they joined Central Christian Church on Westside Drive. During their fifty-four years at Central Christian, Virginia’s hands continued to do good work. She played piano and organ, sang alto in the chancel choir, helped establish the hand-bell choir, made dozens of stuffed animals and clothes for the annual church fund- raising bazaar, and assumed direction of its lending library, expanding it with her own gift of time and books. For many years, she and several members who were avid readers took turns each month reviewing a favorite book for Central women. And she found time to deliver for Meals on Wheels. Her many gifts also blessed her family members whom she supported and encouraged in all their activities. She is survived by Jesse, husband of sixty-five years and three children Gwen Lummus (Alan) of Dallas, Molly Parman of Atlanta, and Wayne (Jana O’Brien) of Oak Park, IL; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
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