Rodney Dell Parrish

Rodney Dell Parrish, a resident of Navarre Beach and a former resident of Dothan, died Sunday, July 15, 2012, surrounded by family at Joyce Goldenberg Hospice in Pensacola, FL. He was 74.

Funeral services will be 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at Byrd Funeral Home Chapel with his son-in-law, Johnathan Player officiating. Burial will follow in Mt. Gilead Cemetery, near Hartford, with Byrd Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends at the funeral home prior to services on Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. until service time.

Rodney was born February 24, 1938, in Dothan. He graduated from Dothan High School in 1956. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corp, he graduated from the University of Alabama in 1964, having taken a job as a ticket manager for the University Athletic Department.

He was preceded in death by his parents, HW (Dell) Parrish and Blanche Pate Parrish.

Survivors include two sons, Patrick Dell Parrish and Charles A. (Ashley) Parrish; a daughter, Amy (Johnathan) Player; a brother, Harry Wayne (Sharon) Parrish; four sisters, Kathy Marie (Gerald) Bryant, Sharon Lee (Norman) Dasinger, Mary Rebecca Harvard, and Grace Virginia Clearman; four grandchildren, Maggie Player, Lucy Player, Sara Frances Parrish and Samuel Parrish.

Pallbearers will be Gerald Bryant, Harrison Parrish, Ron Waldron, Scott Casey, Larry Morris and Joey Morris. Jean Daughtry will serve as honorary pallbearer.

Rodney was a loving father and grandfather, and a great friend to many.He gave his children an example of a tireless work ethic which he learned at an early age in his father's grocery store.He enjoyed coaching little league, working in the yard, playing golf, spending time at the beach and on his boat, and especially playing with his grandchildren.He was a talented woodworker. He also enjoyed his post-retirement business which he shared with his oldest son and his son-in-law.He will be deeply missed.