Betty Lee Parn's Obituary
Betty Lee Parn was born in Providence, Rhode Island on October 7, 1942 where she lived with her mother, aunt and uncle while her father was on active duty in WWII. After her father returned from the war, she moved to Washington, DC with her family.
She graduated from Suitland High School and went to secretarial school to learn shorthand. After working for a short time, she met her future husband, Lloyd Parn. They didn’t have much, but they had each other and after getting married on their lunch breaks at the courthouse, they went back to their respective jobs and began their forever life together. She stayed home in the early years and raised her 3 children, Frankie, Billy and Kate. While raising her children, she never sat idle, she worked at home as a seamstress. She could make anything from scratch, including her own children’s clothes. She could fix and alter any article of clothing that was brought to her.
After settling the family around Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1972, she and her husband spent many years on the auction/antique circuit. They spent many weekends traveling the Virginia countryside collecting china, glassware, junk boxes but especially anything oak. They stopped at many a country store to eat pickled eggs and giant pickles along the way.
In Fredericksburg, she began a career at H&R Block doing tax preparation. Being the most requested tax practitioner for several years, she branched out and opened her own small business for bookkeeping and taxes. Although she didn’t become the doctor she once dreamed of, she was extremely successful and loved by all of her clients. She never wanted to raise her fees to market value because she had so many clients over the years, especially elderly ones that relied on her.
She became a member of Fairview Baptist Church in the early 90s. She belonged to bible studies, taught Sunday school to special adults, volunteered in the vacation bible study programs and did the church bookkeeping for many years. This gave her many years of joy while living and giving in the Christian spirit. She became a dedicated member, deacon, and faithfully tithed for many years until she moved to Lewes, DE in 2023 with her daughter, Kate and son in law, Chuck Connolly.
Betty passed away peacefully in her daughter’s home in Lewes, DE on April 22, 2024. She is predeceased by her brother Eddie Newton, her parents, Victor and Elizabeth Newton, and her husband, Lloyd Parn. She is survived by her brother, Albert Newton, her children, Frank Bradley, William Parn, Kathryn Whitescarver, and several grandchildren, great grandchildren and her favorite grand cat, Casey.
In lieu of flowers to the family, Betty’s favorite charity, other than the church was the Salvation Army. After WWII, her father was in a mental rehabilitation center for some time. She always remembered the only organization to help her mother was the Salvation Army. They gave them food and helped them pay rent for a short time until her mother was able to find a job and her father came home again. She always spoke fondly of them as her favorite charity and in earlier years, you may have seen her ringing the bell during the holidays. I think if anyone wanted to donate in her name, she would be thrilled to hear it was at the Salvation Army. Being a strong woman of faith, she is no doubt up in heaven with her beloved husband, Lloyd, watching the birds fly by in a field of her favorite flowers, red poppies.
A celebration of life will be held will be held at a later date to be determined by the family.
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