Jane Parrish
Mrs. Jane Kilgore Parrish, 88, of Union City, passed into eternal rest on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, following surgery complications.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, at White-Ranson Funeral Home in Union City. Rev. Terry English officiated. The family receive visitors at the funeral home from noon until the time of service.
Burial was in East View Cemetery in Union City following the service.
Pallbearers were Wesley Parrish, John Horne, David Kail, Marcus Williams, Brian Dwyer and Alan Jordan. Honorary pallbearers were Kelvin Parrish, Charles Miller, Willa Dickerson and Jimmy Roberts.
Mrs. Parrish was born on Jan. 7, 1937, to the late Wayne and Essie (Wilson) Kilgore of the Hyndsver community in Weakley County. She is survived by her husband of nearly 69 years, Ottis O. Parrish. She received her B.S. degree from University of Tennessee at Martin and her M.A. degree (Summa cum laude) from Murray State University. Early in her career she was Librarian and a Teacher at East Side Elementary School before becoming the Librarian at Union City High School in 1975. She retired in 2000 after 32 years in the Union City School System. During her career she had been extremely active with the East Side Elementary P.T.A., was the first faculty member to be elected as President, and the first person to serve two terms as President. She loved working with students and was devoted to ensuring children had the right influences at an early age. Her door was always open to those who needed help or simply a listening ear.
She was very proud to have been awarded as Young Woman of the Year in 1970 by the Union City Jaycettes. She was also listed in the 1970 edition of Outstanding Young Women of America. She had been a charter member of Northwest Tennessee School Librarians’ Association; charter member of Tennessee Association of School Librarians; member of National Education Association; member of Tennessee Education Association; and member of Union City Education Association. In High School, after being crowned Miss West TN FFA, she competed in the Miss Tennessee Beauty Pageant in Nashville.
Mrs. Parrish was a vibrant and energetic lady, who always wanted to be proactive and get things done in advance, for one never knows what tomorrow will bring! Her famous Thanksgiving dressing was already in the making, along with pies in the freezer for this year at the time of her passing. A grand matriarch she was; her family was her passion and family gatherings were one of her greatest joys! She firmly believed in taking care of her family and lived by the word of God in 1st Timothy 5:8.
Multiple times every day she faithfully read her very tattered and worn Bible and thanked the Lord for her many blessings. Her life lessons were golden and left lasting impacts. If she could help someone in need, she did so lovingly.
She was a member of Pleasant Valley Methodist Church for 65 years where she held many positions over the decades, including service as a Kindergarten Sunday School teacher, Vacation Bible School teacher, and President and Sunday School teacher of the Gus White Sunday School Class.
Mrs. Parrish loved flower and landscape gardening and thrived on building her backyard haven of peace and relaxation. She also was an excellent cook with a flare for changing any recipe into a healthy meal. Family members loved her own recipe for homemade healthy biscuits. Her holiday desserts, though not exactly “healthy,” were decadent works of art! Her holiday buffets, coupled with her amazing tabletop decoration talent were always original and inviting. As much as she loved her flowers, cooking, and decorating, her favorite hobby was shopping! She must have been the model for the slogan “Shop Til You Drop!”.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Parrish is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Wesley and Jane Parrish of Knoxville; her daughter and son-in-law, Tamara and Kelvin Parrish of Cordova and Union City; her granddaughter, Leah (Marcus) Williams of Knoxville; her great-granddaughter, Raya Williams of Knoxville; her stepgrandson, Aaron (Rachel) Parrish of Albuquerque, N.M.; several stepgrandchildren; and cherished nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Parrish was preceded in death by her brother, W.W. Kilgore of Martin; and her sisters, Joyce Kilgore Freeman of Martin and June Kilgore Horne of Memphis.
The Messenger