Geraldine Hartley Parrish age 88, died Saturday afternoon, February 10th at her home. Mrs. Parrish was born November 4, 1929 in the Brogden community to the late William Arthur and Annie Belle Rose Hartley. She was preceded in death by a brother, William Gurney “W.G.” Hartley and a daughter-in-law, Cheryl Gagne Parrish. Mrs. Parrish graduated from Princeton High School in 1948 and then attended King’s Business College in Raleigh.
Geraldine wrote advertising for radio stations WGBR in Goldsboro, WKDA in Nashville, TN, and WMPM in Smithfield. In 1964, she went into the funeral business with her husband, Elton, as a bookkeeper and office manager. She was an excellent cook and seamstress, loved more than anything to rock a new grandbaby and was in every sense of the word the matriarch of her family.
Mrs. Parrish will lie in state at Parrish Funeral Home on Tuesday, February 13th from 1:00 – 6:00 p.m., with the family present from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Funeral services will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel with Rev. Dennis Pollock and Mr. Luby Tyner, Jr. officiating. A private entombment will be held at a later date at Selma Memorial Gardens.
Surviving are her husband of 67 years, Robert Elton Parrish; sons, Robert Ennis Parrish and wife Shannan of Pine Level and Michael Elton Parrish of Selma; daughters, Teresa Parrish Warren and husband Calvin of New Bern and Susan Parrish Watson and husband Chris of Princeton; brothers, Stanley Hartley (Lynn) of Goldsboro and Dennis Hartley (Elaine) of Raleigh; sister, Sandra Wilson (Wiley) of Goldsboro; nine grandchildren, Kristin Parrish Sroka (Dave) of Durham, Cherri Elaine Parrish of Raleigh, Michael Scott Parrish (Erin) of Clayton, Emily Parrish Gardner (Bradley) of Kenly, Adam Parrish Warren (Kristen) of Riverview, FL, Alexandria Warren Edwards (Chase) of Chapel Hill, Acy Cameron Watson (Allie) of Park City, UT, Jessica Tyson Watson and Bailey Christian Watson both of Raleigh and nine great-grandchildren, Elaina and Aiden Sroka; Anna Helen Parrish; Emma Grace, Finley, Ethan and Emerson Gardner; Kendall Warren; Atlas Watson.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to 3HC, 2402 Wayne Memorial Drive, Goldsboro, NC 27534 and/or SECU Hospice House payable to Johnston Health Foundation, PO Box 1376, Smithfield, NC 27577.
