Obituary of Leona Elizabeth Parish

Services for Leona Elizabeth 'Granny' Parish, 88, Arp, are scheduled for 10:00 am, Tuesday, January 27, at the Cottle-Pearson Funeral Home chapel, Overton with Elder Vernis Stanaland officiating. Burial will be in the Mason Cemetery, Arp. Mrs. Parish died Saturday, January 24, 2009, in a Tyler hospice facility. She was born April 13, 1920, in Sand Flat, Texas to the late Samuel Clark Blanton and Willie Colley Blanton. She had been a resident of Arp since 1936. She was a member of the Tyler Primitive Baptist Church and was a loving wife, mother, and 'Granny' to everyone she met. Mrs. Parish married Johnie Parish, July 25, 1936. He preceded her in death August 16, 1984. Also preceding her in death was a daughter, Anita Lane; a daughter-in-law, Dolores Parish; a brother John Blanton and a sister, Dorothy Faye McClard. Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Brenda Parish, Arp; three daughters and sons-in-law, Juanita and Tot Thomas, Arp, Ruth and Alvin Flynn, Tyler and Beth and Bill Hunter, Silver Creek, Georgia; a brother, Leroy Blanton, California; sisters, Rita Soloman, Conway, Arkansas, Amelia Hamilton, Kempner, Marlene McGehee, Evergreen, and Darlene Blanton; 17 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; 12 great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Memorials, if desired, may be made to the Tyler Primitive Baptist Church or to the Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd, Tyler, TX 75701.